BX 

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i STORY FIRST PASTOR, 



BSBYTERIAN 



18J0-1862 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

BX?3LH 

Chap, Copyright No. 

8helf.S4H$ 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



s 



THE HISTORY 



OF THE 



FIRST PASTORATE 

OF THE 

HOWARD 
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 
1850-1862 



BY ( 
REV. SAMUEL H. WILLEY 

THE FIRST PASTOR 




SAN FRANCISCO 

THE WHITAKER AND RAY COMPANY 
(incorporated) 

1900 



(>f>409 

|j_Jbi%^ y of Cona 

p« Cart* feu^eo 
NOV 1 1900 

SECOND COPY. 

ORDfctf DIVISION, 
NOV 23 1900 



Copyright, 1900 

BY 

Samuel H. Willey 



TO 



MY WIFE 

LOVING AND BELOVED 

FOR FIFTY-ONE YEARS HAS MADE MY HOME PRECIOUS, 
AND WHO HAS SHARED WITH ME THE BURDENS AND 
THE JOYS OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 

THIS VOLUME 

IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED 



CONTENTS 

A WORD IN EXPLANATION 9 



CHAPTER I. 

Preliminary Explorations from California Street 
Southward to Rincon Hill — ' ' Happy Valley ' ' — 
A Village of Cottages — The Carpenter-Shop 
Chapel — The Organization of the Sabbath School 
and the Church 13 



CHAPTER II. 

Donation of a Church Lot by W. D. M. Howard — 
Subscription Toward a Church Building Started 
— The Pastor's Long Sickness — On His Recovery, 
the Subscription Started Again — Wretched Con- 
dition of Civil Affairs — The Help of the Pulpit 
was Sought — Building of the House of Worship 
Commenced 29 



CHAPTER III. 

The Work of Church-Construction Pushed — It Ap- 
proached Completion in April — On May 3d the 
City was Laid in Ashes — Then, only by Borrow- 
ing Money could the Building be Completed — 
It was Made Ready for Occupancy in June, and 
was Dedicated on the 15th of that Month — It was 
a Notable Occasion 40 



5 



6 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTEE IV. 



Growth of Population in that Part of the City — 
Increase of the Sabbath School — Growth of the 
Congregation — The Church Coming into Re- 
sponsible Work in the City and in the State — Was 
Foremost in Establishing The Pacific — Took 
Part with the Other Churches in Philanthropic 
Work, in the Founding of the Protestant Or- 
phan Asylum, the Ladies' Protection and Re- 
lief Society, and the First Chinese Mission — 
The First Church Organ in the City was Pre- 
sented to it — Churches of Other Denominations 
were Organized Near It 55 



Increase of Church Membership — Reorganized 
with New Board of Elders — Increase in Church 
Membership — New Board of Elders Chosen — 
Pleasant Relations of Pastor and Members of the 



Recollections of Captain E. Knight and Major A. B. 



CHAPTER V. 



Session 



73 



CHAPTER VI. 



Eaton 



77 



CHAPTER VII. 



Some Names of Other Early Members of the Church 
and Congregation — Some Further Names of 
Early Members of the Church and Congregation 85 



CONTENTS. 7 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Home Missionary Work 106 

CHAPTER IX. 

The Pastor's Journey East with His Family — His 
Only Vacation 114 

CHAPTER X. 

The Municipal Revolution — The Vigilance Com- 
mittee — Reconstruction 124 

CHAPTER XI. 

Growth of Christian Work — Joint Meetings of 
Presbyterian and Congregational Bodies . . . 130 

CHAPTER XII. 

Some Cases of Sickness and Death Among the 
Young Men 134 

CHAPTER XIII. 

The Great Revival Year 1858, and Its Rich Fruitage 
Here 140 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Reconstruction and Enlargement of the House of 
Worship , 148 



8 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEK XV. 
Secession and the Civil War . . . 

CHAPTER XVI. 
The Resignation of the Pastor . . 



A WORD IN EXPLANATION. 



In 1848, and for many years before that, 
the Presbyterian Church, New School, and 
the Congregational churches carried on 
their home missionary work through the 
agency of the American Home Missionary 
Society. 

It was the understanding that new churches 
organized by home missionaries should be 
Presbyterian or Congregational, according to 
the choice of those uniting to form them. 

It was at the request of this society that 
the writer came to California, leaving New 
York, December 1, 1848. 

My church relation had been first with the 
Congregational church in my native New 
England home, and next with the Dartmouth 
College church, and later, while I was in 
Union Theological Seminary, New York, it 
was with the Central Presbyterian church, 
Rev. Dr. William Adams, pastor. 

Before leaving for California I was or- 
9 



10 



A WORD IN EXPLANATION. 



dained by the Fourth Presbytery in New 
York. 

In Monterey, to which I first came, no 
church was formed. AVhen the Howard 
church, in San Francisco, was organized, the 
greater number of individuals proposing to 
unite in it were Presbyterians, and all cor- 
dially agreed that the church should be 
Presbyterian. 

My connection with the Presbyterian 
Church continued during my eight years' 
service in behalf of the College of California, 
or a little over twenty years in all, when I 
accepted a call to the pastorate of the Con- 
gregational church in Santa Cruz, and that, 
of course, carried me into the Congregational 
body. 

The readers of this history, who were 
members of the church or congregation dur- 
ing my pastorate, will remember many more 
things that might have been stated, and 
many names that perhaps ought to have 
been mentioned. But I have been obliged 
to depend largely upon memory. 

Very few memoranda were kept in the 



A WORD IN EXPLANATION. 



11 



early days. There was no time for it in the 
haste and confusion of the time. 

And very few^ indeed, of the people of 
that day are now left with whom to consult 
in making up the record. 

If, therefore, it is not perfect, the reason 
will be obvious. 



THE HISTORY 
OF THE FIRST PASTORATE 

OF 

THE HOWARD 
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

CHAPTER I. 

After fifty years it is pleasant to review the 
history of the Howard church. 

The circumstances which led to its forma- 
tion are a part of that history. 

Fifty-one years ago I was preaching in 
Monterey, It was the capital of the terri- 
tory, and was my designated missionary field. 
It was the army headquarters and the resi- 
dence of the governor. Quite a number of 
the officers, as well as the governor, had 
their families with them there. 

They constituted almost my whole congre- 
gation and parish, the residents of the town 
being nearly all Spanish-speaking people. 

When, later, the state of California was 
organized, and the capital was removed from 
Monterey, together with the army head- 

13 



14 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



quarters, I quickly looked for a more prom- 
ising field. 

In October, 1849, in company with an 
army officer, I came on horseback to San 
Francisco, and saw the city for the first 
time. 

I rode all over it, and studied it with 
curiosity and wonder. Five or six ministers 
had already arrived here, and one or two 
very temporary houses of worship had been 
erected, but the neighborhood of Stockton, 
Powell, and Washington streets, where most 
of the families were then living, was the part 
of the city where churches seemed likely to 
be built. There was a great concourse of 
men landing from ships and getting outfits 
for the mines, multitudes of others returning 
from the mines, some going home, and many 
crowding the gambling-saloons that sur- 
rounded the Plaza on three sides. 

Business was transacted for the most part 
on Montgomery Street, which extended 
southward only to California Street, and be- 
yond that no street was opened. 

I went exploring in the direction of Pin- 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 15 

con Hill to see what might be found in that 
region. I found a succession of sand dunes 
or drifts lying nearly parallel with one an- 
other, and in the direction of east and west. 

The winds of ages, blowing strong and 
regularly through the long dry seasons, had 
drifted the loose dry sand from the shore of 
the ocean, clear across the peninsula, and 
left it in windrows along this low and level 
region, extending them clear down to the 
shore of the bay. 

The highest of these sand-hills lay along 
what is now Market Street, and was, as I 
remember it, at least sixty feet high, if meas- 
ured from the present Market Street grade. 

The others south of it were smaller, with 
narrow valleys between. Climbing to the 
top of the one lying along what is now Mis- 
sion Street, I looked down upon a wider val- 
ley, refreshingly green, and protected from 
the ocean wind-currents. 

It was strikingly beautiful, and in won- 
derful contrast with the desert-like ster- 
ility of the surrounding region. It is not 
strange that it came later to be called " Happy 
Valley." 



16 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 

Beyond it there were one or two sand-drifts, 
and then came Bincon Hill, solid and per- 
manent, the only feature of the landscape in 
that direction now remaining. 

Rincon Hill was covered thickly with a 
growth of tangled shrubbery and small trees, 
principally oak, and so, to a large extent, 
were the sand-hills and the valley. 

It is worth while to recall the topography 
of this part of San Francisco as it was then, 
for it has been so completely and utterly 
changed, that otherwise its memory would be 
forever effaced. Two or three years later 
the steam-paddy came and shoveled these 
sand-hills into cars, and they trundled them- 
selves down to the bay on rails and filled in 
the water-lots on which stand our great busi- 
ness houses to-day. But it so altered this 
part of the city, that it is very difficult to 
describe it as it was. Among the shrubbery 
on the lee side of the sand-hills were, here 
and there, tents pitched by the newly arrived, 
who stayed only long enough to make ready 
for the mines. A few immigrants, with 
their teams, from over the plains were among 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 17 

those encamped, and some of them had their 
families along. Their locations could be 
discovered by the smoke of their fires rising 
above the chaparral, by which they cooked 
their meals. 

No signs of street surveys or boundaries 
of lots were visible, though the surveyor had 
laid off the whole territory in blocks and lots, 
checked with streets, but the stakes were 
driven down out of sight in the sand. 

Some people were bold enough to think 
that the city might grow that way in time, 
and make this property valuable. 

It was owned largely by a few men, among 
whom were Messrs. Howard, Folsom, and 
Brannan, and it was for their interest to have 
it come into use. 

So much I learned, on that October day, 
concerning a part of San Francisco with 
which, as it turned out, I was later to become 
better acquainted. 

Returning to Monterey on horseback, as I 
came, I passed the winter of 1849-50 busy in 
my mission-work. My congregation remained 
the same through the winter, with perhaps 



18 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



some additions. The daj r school which I 
opened in the preceding March, and also the 
Sabbath school, were well cared for by Dr. 
T. L. Andrews, besides which there was noth- 
ing of public interest going on, except the 
collecting of some two thousand dollars for 
the beginning of a public library, which 
amount was afterwards obtained. This was 
the first public library begun in the state. 

Monterey, however, gained nothing in pop- 
ulation from the great California immigra- 
tion, and the time was drawing near when 
the army officers and their families would 
move away. 

In May, 1850, I mounted my horse to 
go to San Jose, to attend the spring meet- 
ing of the Presbytery of San Francisco, which 
was organized in Monterey in September, 
1849, and to take part in the installation of 
Rev. T. Dwight Hunt as pastor of the First 
Congregational Church, San Francisco. 

I remembered " Happy Valley," and rode 
over to see it again, when, lo! what a change. 

The land proprietors had brought out a 
whole village of pretty cottages, ready-made, 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 19 



from the East, and during the winter they 
had been put up and prepared for occupancy. 

Most of them stood in rows on either side of 
Minna Street, between First and Second streets. 
Minna Street was the center of the valley. 

Another row was on the south side of 
Mission Street, and other separate cottages 
were located here and there in different parts 
of the valley. 

Messrs. Howard, Brannan, and Melius had 
built themselves residences on Mission Street, 
west of Third Street, and Captain Folsom had 
built his on Second Street, south of Howard 
Street. 

There were also some residences here and 
there, of more or less permanence, occupied 
by families, and children were to be seen 
playing among the sand-hills. 

Ought there not to be a church begun 
here? This was a question that occurred to 
me at once. There were the cottages, now 
recently completed, and it was evident enough 
that they would soon be occupied. 

A considerable number of people were al- 
ready dwelling in the neighborhood, and 



20 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



among them some families, and there was 
every indication that there would soon be 
more. I thought the matter over seriously. 

On inquiring of a few Christian people in 
the city, whom I knew, I found that 
there had been some visiting in that sec- 
tion of the city on Sundays for the pur- 
pose of the distribution of tracts and Bibles 
and with reference to the opening of a Sab- 
bath school. 

This was done, as I learned, by T. J. Nevins. 1 

1 Thomas J. Nevins was born in Hanover, Xew Hamp- 
shire, in 1795. He was trained for the profession of the 
law, and was admitted to the bar in 1823. He removed 
to Buffalo, Xew York, where he practiced his profession. 
He was an earnest Christian, and was always engaged 
in philanthropic work. He took a deep interest in the 
subject of public education and in the improvement of 
the Buffalo common schools. In 1850 he came to Cali- 
fornia. He was then somewhat past middle life. He 
did not come for gold, nor to practice his profession. 
He came as the agent of the American Tract Society, to 
try to supply a wholesome literature to the people who 
were flocking to this country. 

He began his work in San Francisco, distributing 
tracts and books, and visiting the dwellers in tents 
pitched outside of the business part of the city, and 
especially the families that were temporarily camped in 
the vicinity, and if there were children, he tried to 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 21 

agent of the American Tract Society, and Mr. 
D. N. Hawley, a young merchant of the city. 

gather them into Sabbath schools, providing them 
teachers as best he conld. 

He soon brought about the organization of the 
"Pacific Tract Society," and enlisted a great many 
young business men in its support. In this way his 
work was extended, through the influence of people 
friendly to his cause going to the mines, and good read- 
ing was distributed largely in remote parts of the 
country. 

He was a pronounced and active temperance man, 
and gave much time to gathering friends of the cause 
into temperance organizations. 

No sooner had our first legislature, in 1850, passed a 
law empowering the city to establish free schools to be 
supported by tax, than he began to agitate the question 
of immediate action on the part of the city authorities. 

They were somewhat slow to respond, because there 
were not a great many children then here needing 
schools. 

There were, however, some members of the board of 
aldermen who appreciated the situation, and were in 
favor of immediate action. 

They were business men, and asked Mr. Nevins, who 
was used to legal work, to present a draft for a law or- 
ganizing the department of San Francisco city free 
schools. He did so, and in the fall of 1851 the law was 
passed, and Mr. Nevins was appointed superintendent to 
carry out its provisions. 

This he did very effectively, and a few schools were 
at once commenced. 



22 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



This increased my interest in this section 
of the city as a mission-field, and before I 
returned to Monterey I determined to test 
the matter a little further. 

Riding into the valley, I found that the 
carpenter-shop in which the work of putting 
together the cottages had been done was now 
unused. 

This carpenter-shop stood in what after- 

But he did not stop with this. He discovered that 
there was a great deal of city property yet unsold, and 
he selected hundred-vara lots and fifty-vara lots and 
had them reserved from sale, to be used for school pur- 
poses. This could be readily done then, and in the 
years that followed this property became a rich inheri- 
tance, devoted to the free education of the city's chil- 
dren. In this service Mr. Nevins earned the gratitude, 
not only of the people of his time, but of those of all 
succeeding generations. 

Mr. Nevins was one of the first to suggest the forma- 
tion of the Academy of Natural Sciences. 

He invited those interested to meetings in his office, 
where for two years they were held weekly, and w T here 
were deposited collections and the correspondence with 
other associations. 

Early in 1862 he visited Nevada, and while there, at 
Silver City, he fell into a stream, and though he was 
rescued from drowning, he fell sick and died, January 
14, 1862. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 23 

wards proved to be the intersection of Second 
and Minna streets. 

Securing the use of it for the next Sunday 
afternoon, I had notice given, as well as it 
could be, that I should hold Sunday school 
there on the next Sabbath, May 19, 1850, 
and preach at two o'clock in the afternoon. 

On the day appointed, after preaching to 
one of the young congregations in the city 
in the forenoon, I rode over the sand-hills to 
the valley at the time appointed, and hitched 
my horse to a small oak tree near the car- 
penter-shop door. 

Going in, I found that the loose lumber 
had been cleared away from the front part 
of the room, boards were laid from chest to 
chest, and about a dozen people were there, 
and a few children. 1 First came a Scripture 

1 There were six children in all : four girls and two 
boys. Of this number, three girls — Harriet Redman, 
Isabel Redman, and Jane Crowell — are now living in 
this city or its vicinity. 

The first is Mrs. Sidney J. Loop of Alameda ; the sec- 
ond, Mrs. Don Carlos Somers of this city ; and the third, 
Mrs. J. L. Martel, also of this city. Of the others we 
have no certain information. 



24 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



lesson, and then a short sermon, after which 
we made one another's acquaintance a little 
more fully, and talked over the question of 
the wisdom of beginning a church in the 
valley. 

There was one thing in favor of it, surely: 
it would not be building on another man's 
foundation. 

It was determined to continue the Sabbath 
school, at least, and arrangements were made 
accordingly. Some further examination as 
to helpers, and the prospect of an immediate 
increase of population, led me to decide to 
come at once and take up the work here, bring- 
ing my family from Monterey, and occupying 
one of the cottages before described. 

With this in mind I returned as soon as 
possible to Monterey, and made preparation 
for the removal of my family to San Fran- 
cisco. 

By about the 20th of August, 1850, we 
were here, cozily settled in the cottage stand- 
ing by itself on Second Street, between Minna 
and Natoma streets. 

Securing now the use of the carpenter-shop 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 25 



for a chapel, it was first cleared of lumber and 
tools and lined with white cotton cloth, as all 
buildings were in those days. Then some 
very good settees were obtained for seats, and 
a tastefully arranged pulpit completed the 
furnishing of the chapel. Our friends from 
the other part of the city, who came to 
see us, said it was a much better place in 
which to begin than the other churches had, 
that were organized in the city the year be- 
fore. 

So my work began in a very simple and 
primitive way. 

The morning was always for study, and 
the afternoon for exploration throughout all 
the neighborhood, wading among the sand- 
hills and through the thickets, looking up 
the people and the children, and inviting 
them to join us in our new church-enterprise, 
or else in wandering along the beach east of 
First Street, where boats were moored, and 
men were making ready for the journey to 
the mines, or repairing machinery of one sort 
or another, all of whom it was good to talk 
with, and some of whom might be found help- 



26 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



ful for a longer or a shorter time in our new 
church -work. 

We at once commenced our mid-week 
prayer-meeting, which brought together peo- 
ple who came from divers parts of the world. 

The Sabbath congregations gradually in- 
creased. The Sabbath school also grew, 
though but few women and children had yet 
come. 

Confidence in the permanence of our under- 
taking began to increase, and drew the atten- 
tion of thinking people. 

Thorough exploration of the entire section 
was carried on by Mr. Nevins and Mr. Haw- 
ley on Sundays, to bring in children, and if 
they were too small to wade any distance 
through the sand, they picked them up, liter- 
ally, and brought them. 

Meanwhile, some Christian people were 
found who were likely to remain with us for 
a considerable period of time, and after a few 
weeks they were of the opinion that it would 
be wise to join together and organize a 
church. 

In consultation, they found that the greater 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 27 

number were from Presbyterian churches of 
the New School at home. Inasmuch as there 
was no church of this order in the city, and 
there was readiness on the part of all to join 
in a church of this denomination, it was de- 
cided that the church should be Presbyterian. 

Though but four of those proposing to 
unite in forming the church were prepared 
to do so at this time, there were reasons why 
it was thought best to effect the organization 
at once, and let the others join later. 

The four above referred to were Thomas 
J. Nevins, from the First Presbyterian 
church, Buffalo, New York; Samuel Newton 
from the Congregational Mission church, 
San Antonio, Texas; James Stuart, from the 
Presbyterian church, Sydney, New South 
Wales; and John D. Munford, from the 
United Presbyterian church, Richmond, Vir- 
ginia. 

These four united in a formal petition to 
be organized into a Presbyterian church. 

Accordingly, notice was given of the forma- 
tion of the church on Sabbath, September 15, 
1850. 



28 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



"At that time," the record runs, " the above- 
named persons were constituted and recog- 
nized a Church of Christ, according to the 
Standards and Rules of the Presbyterian 
Church in the United States, Rev. Samuel 
H. Willey officiating, and Rev. T. Dwight 
Hunt assisting." 

And over their own signature? these indi- 
viduals say, "We do hereby give to the 
church the name, ' The Howard Street Pres- 
byterian Church, San Francisco."' 

For certain sufficient reasons, the word 
"street" was, some years afterward, dropped 
from the name. 

On the following Sabbath, September 22d, 
John D. Munford and Samuel Newton, who 
had been ordained elders and had served in 
Presbyterian churches East, were asked to 
serve as such, and also as deacons, for the 
time being, more especially as neither of 
them expected to remain in California more 
than a short time. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 29 



CHAPTER II. 

Meanwhile, with the church organization 
complete, and a congregation already filling 
our chapel, and a bright little Sabbath school, 
and also a society composed of such business 
men in the neighborhood as expected to re- 
main some considerable length of time, 1 we 

1 On Monday evening, September 16, 1850, the Ecclesi- 
astical Society to conduct the secular affairs of the church 
was organized by the following subscribing members : — 

Thomas J. Nevins. Otis Wilson. 

David N. Hawley. Samuel A. Hastings. 

James Stuart. E. B. Goddard. 

John C. Piercy. Stephen S. Smith. 

Samuel Newton. Lewellen A. Eogers. 

Henry M. Garcelon. 
W. A. Palmer, a lumber merchant from Maine, was 
present and took a deep interest in the establishment 
of the church, but inasmuch as he was just then about 
to return East, and was not certain whether he would 
return to California, he did not join the society. 

Mr. John C. Piercy was from New York, and came 
with his family to make his home in California, and 
was esteemed the more highly on that account. Later, 
he interested himself in municipal affairs, and was at 
one time a member of the city common council. 



30 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



went through the month of September and 
well into October. 

Mr. Howard had given us a lot on which 
to build a church, and it was part of my 
afternoon work to get subscriptions to a fund 
for the needed building. 

This took me a good deal into Montgomery 
Street when it was for the first time torn up 
for grading, and the upturning of all manner 
of decaying things trodden down in the pre- 
vious winter's mud filled the air with ma- 
laria, and seemed to awaken in me the Panama 
fever, which had been lurking in my system 
for eighteen months, or from the time I was 
detained a whole month in Panama, during 
January, 1849. 

This laid me low indeed. It was near the 
middle of October, 1850. Of course, pretty 
much everything about my work stopped. 
The last thing I remember was hearing 
that the steamship Oregon was coming in 
from Panama, all gayly dressed with flags, 
bringing the welcome news that, at last, Cali- 
fornia had been admitted to the Union! 

And all I could do was to get my two hands 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 31 

out from under the bedclothes and try to 
clap them for a cheer. 

Then I fell into the nursing care of my 
precious young wife and faithful doctor, — 
Dr. B. B. Coit, — and knew little more for a 
month or six weeks. Life was barely saved, 
and from that exhausting sickness recovery 
was very slow. I was not able to take up work 
till March, 1851. During that four or five 
months of my sickness, several clergymen 
helped to keep my congregation together by 
preaching for me. Rev. Frederick Buel, 
agent of the American Bible Society, was 
particularly kind in preaching whenever he 
was called on, and the Sabbath school was 
well kept up by the teachers. 

But when, on recovery, I came to look after 
the plans and subscriptions for church-build- 
ing, they were not to be found. Everything 
was done by the week or by the month in 
those days, and after a period so long as four 
months it was not strange that almost none of 
my subscribers obtained in October preced- 
ing were to be found. So all that work had 
to be started over again. 



32 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



The membership of the church now be- 
gan to increase. 

On March 26, 1851, Lewellen A. Rogers 
and David N. Hawley 1 were received to 
membership. 

On April 9th, Mrs. C. B. W. Lansing, Mrs. 
Sarah Henrietta Redman, Mrs. Sarah Wilson, 
and Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Horswell were 
received on certificate, and Miss Maria Carr 
on profession of her faith. 

1 Mr. Hawley joined by letter from the First Congre- 
gational church, of which he was one of the charter 
members. 

He united with us from purely missionary motives. 
He was sorely needed in the Congregational church, 
then composed of only a handful of young men. But 
Ave were so much fewer, and were just trying to begin in 
a" remote part of the city, that he consented to join us, 
and with much reluctance his associates consented that 
he should do so. 

He was at the head of the hardware firm of Hawley, 
Sterling, and Company, and as active and busy a man 
as there was in the city, but he somehow T found time to 
do a great deal of Sunday school work, and w T ork of 
every kind that was necessary in laying the foundation 
of a working church in a part of the city where no church 
whatever existed. 

He was a man who was never weary in well-doing. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 33 

On June 1, 1851, Major Amos B. Eaton, 
U. S. A., and Oliver D. Freeman were re- 
ceived on certificate. And so the numbers 
gradually grew, as people began to feel set- 
tled for a long enough time to send for their 
letters and receive them. 

When all things were going fairly well in 
the church and congregation, the subscrip- 
tion for a church building was started again, 
with better prospects than before, since busi- 
ness in San Francisco had become more set- 
tled. 

But civil affairs and public morals were in 
a dreadful condition. Our municipal govern- 
ment exercised little or no control. 

The city was the resort of the most despe- 
rate characters. 

They seemed to come from all quarters. 
In February, two men entered a merchant's 
store and asked to see goods, and when they 
were shown, the men struck the merchant 
down, and, supposing that he was dead, 
robbed him of two thousand dollars and fled. 

This threw the town into a fever of excite- 
ment. One or two men were arrested on 



34 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



suspicion. As no criminals had been pun- 
ished by due process of the law, the cry was 
for summary proceedings by the people. 
This was opposed by people of cooler heads, 
and with great difficulty the multitude was 
restrained for the time being. 

But excitement continued. Mass meetings 
were held. Suspicious characters were 
watched. Great dissatisfaction was felt with 
the city officers and courts. It rose to such 
a pitch, that in June, after trial, a culprit 
was hanged by a " vigilance committee." 

This state of things was largely owing to 
the fact that the citizens had concerned 
themselves so little with their duty to the 
city. 

Large numbers of the best of them con- 
sidered themselves here but temporarily, — 
merely for a few months or a year at most, — 
and they did not feel themselves obliged to 
give time to voting or looking after city 
affairs. 

The natural result followed. There was 
no knowing w^hat would happen next. 
Thoughtful people were anxious. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 35 

Though the Christian congregations were 
small, and their places of worship were in- 
conspicuous and not easy to find, the public 
mind turned to the pulpit for its help. The 
Alta California said, in June: " The state of 
public morals is so lax, crime so bold, law so 
impotent, life so insecure, property so un- 
protected, that the support of the pulpit and 
all the influences which it can possibly exert 
ought to be given at the present crisis to the 
correction of existing evils. The question is 
one of life and death, of success or ruin, of 
progress or destruction." 

The pulpit was not slow to respond. In- 
deed, it had already uttered its voice. 

These remarks just quoted from the Alta 
were part of its comment, one Monday morn- 
ing, on a sermon of my own of the preceding 
day, which it published in full. 

My theme was one of urgency, entreating 
all citizens to give time and attention to city 
affairs, and do it at once. 

Similar subjects were discussed with great 
earnestness in all the city pulpits, and were 
urged everywhere by the ministry. 



36 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



The situation was perplexing. There was 
no foundation to work upon. The ordinary 
motives in favor of good order and the es- 
tablishment of society on the right basis did 
not operate. Very few people took any per- 
manent interest in the country or in the city. 
The population, as a whole, consisted of a mass 
of strangers, — nearly all men, — from many 
lands, and of diverse languages, having no 
thought of founding here a commonwealth. 

And the half-dozen ministers here — most 
of them young and inexperienced, and all of 
them without facilities of any kind with 
which to gain people's attention and exert 
an influence — were thrown upon their own 
individual resources. 

Each could organize around his own min- 
istry little groups of Christians, as they 
could find among the strangers those of like 
faith and purpose. 

But beyond that they felt called on to exert 
their utmost influence, as citizens, in favor 
of law, and its honest execution by sober and 
able men. But that influence seemed utterly 
inadequate in the midst of the thoughtless, 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 37 



drifting masses, among whom so few gave a 
thought to the future of the country. 

It was sadly discouraging, also, to see the 
deterioration in morals and manners which 
was so marked in the case of a great many 
who were known to have come from the best 
circles of society in the Eastern States. 

It was utterly disappointing. There was, 
however, but one thing for the minister and 
his church to do; namely, with whatever 
facilities they could command to preach the 
gospel and live the gospel, and apply it to the 
public conscience. 

But there was many a day when, in his, 
inexperience, the young minister keenly felt 
his three-thousand-mile separation from all 
men of experience, to whom he might refer 
when grappling with problems so new and 
perplexing. 

But with us the effort to get means to build 
a house of worship was pushed with energy. 
Our .carpenter-shop chapel was full. The 
cottages in the valley were being occupied. 

A few families were arriving by each 
monthly steamer. 



38 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



But to hold the church and congregation 
together, we must have a house of worship. 

Therefore, business men and citizens gen- 
erally were asked for subscriptions. And 
many subscribed, though some said that it 
was useless to try to build churches in Cali- 
fornia. The country was good for nothing 
but mining. Nobody knew how long that 
would last. People would not bring their 
families to a country like this. 

But men of the more intelligent class 
talked differently. 

Inasmuch as we had a lot, and proposed to 
build on it immediately, they would help us. 
And they did so with a generosity character- 
istic of that time. The subscriptions were 
to be paid in installments as the work pro- 
gressed. 

And so it was determined to proceed with 
the work at once. First we went to ascertain 
the exact boundary of the lot. It was de- 
scribed as fronting on Howard Street, near 
the corner of what is now New Montgomery 
Street. But no grading had been done then, 
and, going upon the ground, we saw at once 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 39 

that a building located on that lot would be 
concealed by a sand-drift just north of it. 
So we asked Mr. Howard to give us instead 
the lot adjoining on the north, which would 
front on Natoma Street, and would place the 
building on the hill in a conspicuous loca- 
tion. This he readily consented to do, and 
then came the leveling and the preparation 
of the ground. 

Then followed the drawing on of the tim- 
bers, for the frame was to be firm and strong, 
built after the Eastern fashion, and straight- 
way the carpenters were there with their 
tools, and the work of building was com- 
menced. 



40 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



CHAPTER III. 

From that time the construction of the 
church was pushed as rapidly as possible 
toward completion. When the first tall tim- 
bers were set up on that hill as a part of the 
frame, the mere sight of them kindled our en- 
thusiasm, for then the prospect of having a 
house of worship seemed assured. It was 
made more substantial than any other build- 
ing that, up to that time, had been erected 
in the city. 

Every stick of timber used in its construc- 
tion had been brought all the way from 
Maine; for the manufacture of lumber on this 
Coast had hardly commenced at that time. 
The interior was finished with plastered 
walls and ceiling. 

This was a novelty in San Francisco. All 
buildings before that had been lined with 
cotton cloth. 

The work of construction went rapidly on 
through the month of April. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 41 

We all saw with high anticipations that 
we were nearing the time when we could 
leave our rough little carpenter-shop and 
worship in our new church on the hill. 

In this state of mind we entered the month 
of May, 1851. On Saturday night, the 3d, 
we had collected what was due on the sub- 
scriptions, and had paid off the workmen. I 
had completed my preparation for the Sab- 
bath, and at about ten o'clock was making 
ready to retire, when a sharp ring of the fire- 
bell brought us instantly to the window that 
looked out in the direction of the city, and, 
sure enough, there was the blaze, seemingly in 
the neighborhood of the Plaza, already leap- 
ing high in the darkness, and the fierce 
night-wind was blowing just in the direction 
to carry the fire down through the entire 
business portion of the city! As we stood 
looking, the flames rose higher and spread 
wider, and swept on their fatal course. The 
heated, air-currents, driven by the wind, 
caught up blazing timbers, and we could see 
them hurled aloft, blazing and whirling in 
the air. From where they were seen to fall, 



42 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



blocks in advance, in a moment new columns 
of flame would leap up, only to hasten for- 
ward the work of destruction. 

We knew that there was no escape from 
so fierce a fire. Everything was combus- 
tible, and as dry as tinder. 

If there were any appliances at all with 
which to resist fire, they were useless now. 

If there were, possibly, one or two fire-en- 
gines, there was no water accessible. 

And so nearly the whole business portion 
of the city went down before the flames that 
night. In the short space of ten hours eigh- 
teen entire squares were utterly devastated. 

A few brick stores had been built, and 
with iron shutters were thought to be fire- 
proof. But, alas! the surrounding heat was 
so intense in this case, that some who took 
refuge in them, when they could endure the 
heat no longer, and tried to get out, found the 
iron shutters so swelled that they could not 
be opened! 

The loss by this fire was said by the " An- 
nals of San Francisco," published in 1854, to 
be moderately estimated at from ten to twelve 
millions of dollars. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 43 

On Sunday morning the city presented a 
pitiful spectacle. I made my way over the 
sand-hills to see it. There lay the city, one 
vast black and still smoking tract, with here 
and there crumbling chimneys or falling 
walls, and only three or four brick buildings 
left standing. 

The young merchants who had been out 
all night trying to save something from the 
flames were exhausted, and so blackened by 
smoke and ashes that it was hard to recog- 
nize them. Many of the very best friends of 
our church were among the heaviest sufferers. 

On Monday morning we had to face a 
problem of great difficulty. So many of the 
subscribers to our building fund were utterly 
disabled financially, their stores and goods 
consumed, and their business at an end, we 
could not think of receiving anything more 
from them, — certainly not at that time. 

And yet there stood our half-finished 
church building; and where could we look 
for the means to complete it? 

There was no church-building society in 
those days to look to in an emergency. 



44 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



To ask for new subscriptions then would 
have been absurd. 

At the same time, to stop the work would 
destroy confidence in our enterprise. And 
confidence in religious undertakings was 
very easily destroyed in those days, and 
yet nothing could be done without it. A 
half-finished church-building shut up and 
abandoned would only illustrate anew the 
work of the class of people who begin to 
build and are not able to finish. 

Besides, it would discourage our chapel 
congregation, many of whom were recent 
comers, joining us only in anticipation of 
our soon entering the new church. 

And yet, disastrous as the consequences 
of the suspension of the work would be, it 
must stop, unless at least four thousand dol- 
lars could be provided wherewith to prepare 
the building for use. 

There was only one possible way to get 
this money, and that was to borrow it. 

There seemed to be a good prospect that 
if the building was soon finished, there would 
be such an income from pew-rentals, which 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 45 



at that time could be made pretty high, that 
the loan might be handled. 

But the rate of interest was, in those days, 
so very high that it almost forbade the 
thought of borrowing. 

Inquiry was made, however, and a man 
was found who was willing to lend the 
money, but only on personal security. 

When it came to that, two members of 
our Board of Trustees stepped forward and 
offered to sign the note as security. That 
settled the question. The money was ob- 
tained and the work went on. 

The fact that it was not hindered strength- 
ened confidence in our enterprise greatly. 
People coming into the neighborhood drop- 
ped in on Sunday to see what we were like. 

Some young men were starting manufac- 
ing business in the vicinity. Messrs. Egery 
and Hinckley were establishing the Pacific 
Foundry at the junction of First and Minna 
streets. Mr. George K. Gluyas had charge of 
a machine-shop on the beach, farther round, 
toward the foot of Rincon Hill. 

Neephus and Tichnor were building and 



46 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 

operating some "ways" on the beach, where 
Second Street reaches the bay, by which 
small sailing-craft could be drawn up out of 
the water for repairs. 

These young men, and others in various 
branches of business, attended our services 
of worship, and gradually became able sup- 
porters of the church. 

The city rose up from its ashes, as it were, 
in a day. The miners in the mountains were 
sending down gold and calling for supplies. 

Supplies for immediate necessity were on 
storeships in the harbor, and other cargoes 
would be arriving every few days. It was 
easy, as it was now the dry season, to put up 
a frame of scantling and cover it with cotton 
cloth, and that would serve as a store, and 
the goods could be shipped to fill the orders. 
And so business started anew, and by the 
end of May it had adjusted itself tolerably 
well to the new conditions. 

Meanwhile our church building approached 
completion. When June came, it was so 
nearly done that we appointed Sabbath, the 
fifteenth day of that month, as the dedication 
day. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 47 

Then all the last things had to be attended 
to. In the first place, access to the building 
had to be made as easy as possible. 

The building stood some thirty feet higher 
than the present grade of the streets, but the 
ascent was gradual. Some young merchants 
laid a sidewalk from Second Street along Na- 
toma Street to the door. A small melodeon 
was obtained for the choir. 

We were fortunate in finding one, for al- 
though quantities of the most absurdly 
selected things were shipped to California in 
those days, musical instruments useful in re- 
ligious worship were not often among them. 

But the little instrument served a good 
purpose on that day, and till the organ took 
its place, and then it did good service else- 
where, and is perhaps the only thing now 
remaining that was used on that occasion. 

The dedication service was appointed to 
take place at two o'clock on Sabbath after- 
noon, so that members of other congregations 
could attend without leaving their own ser- 
vices. 

When the afternoon came, it was very 



48 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



pleasant to see the long line of people coming 
to unite with us in the services of dedication. 
The most convenient way to reach our valley 
then was by way of the Oriental Hotel, on 
the corner of Market and Battery streets, — 
along First Street to Minna and up to Second 
Street, and then up Natoma to the church. 

When the hour came, the church was full. 
Singers from other choirs were with ours, 
and the pastors of the other churches were 
with me in the pulpit. They all took part 
in the services with hearty good-will. 

I do not recall the names of any individ- 
uals in that audience except those of Mr. and 
Mrs. Howard. 

Mr. Howard had given us the lot to build 
on. which was worth at least fifteen hundred 
dollars, and a church bell which was the 
largest and finest then in use in the city. 

I have written a great many sermons in 
my lifetime, but I have preserved but very 
few. Among those remaining I find the one 
preached on this occasion. On reviewing it 
now, after this long time, I find that it brings 
to mind very A^ividly the moral and religious 
condition of the time when it w T as delivered. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 49 

The first verse of the eighty-fourth Psalm 
was the text, — " How amiable are thy taber- 
nacles, Lord of hosts," — which was the 
expression of a feeling that ruled in the 
hearts of many of us that day. 

The theme of the discourse was, " Churches 
and religious institutions the first want of a 
new state." 

There was a sentiment abroad that they 
were not the first want, but that they should 
be expected to grow up naturally, in a maturer 
state of society. 

This sentiment I tried with all my might 
to combat before that assembly of young 
business men. 

I stated, what they all knew to be true, 
that many came to this new state only to 
get rich speedily, and did not want any 
restraints. 

They had suffered and toiled to get here; 
they had lived a life but half-civilized in 
order to reach this opportunity to better 
their fortunes; and now they do not want to 
be much reminded of those rigid rules of 
morality that would interfere with their get- 



50 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



ting what they came for. So, practices else- 
where deemed doubtful are here regarded 
pardonable for the time being. 

Men formerly known as lovers of religious 
institutions here stand aloof. These thoughts 
may not be expressed in words, but they 
have their influence. 

"Now, is there any reason in them? Why 
give evil the advantage of the sowing-time 
in the life, and then when the tares cannot 
be plucked up without ruining the wheat 
also, bewail the power of wickedness? 

"Why should the stream, which at its issue 
from the fountain can be easily turned into 
the right channel, be allowed to flow in the 
wrong direction at first, in the hope that 
farther on, when it has received tributaries, 
and has become a torrent, some mighty 
effort may effect its control. . . . 

"This is the seed-time, the hopeful period. 
Now let us preach and teach and print the 
truth. Urge the sanctions of law, that for- 
bids sin in the heart. 

"Arraign men at the bar of conscience. 

" Before hearts have grown hard, surround 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 51 

them with the wholesome influence of the 
truth. Teach them where the value of 
money ceases. Show them the transcendent 
value of clean hands and a pure heart. And, 
above all, let this preaching be sustained by 
that most potent influence of all, — good 
example, — and it will rarely prove in vain. 

"As a state, we are just beginning our 
life. Strictly speaking, we are not yet a year 
old. We have not yet taken on a character 
before the world. We are now to determine 
what that character shall be. 

"In what degree of respect are we to hold 
the Bible and the Sabbath, and the institu- 
tions of religion? 

" For these, we well know, are at the foun- 
dation of civic virtue. 

" Don't put off the consideration of these 
matters to a later period. Build churches 
where they are needed, and then worship in 
them. 

" Support a true and faithful ministry, and 
do business all the week, loyal to the truth 
preached. . . . 

" We are here to-day to set apart this house 



52 HISTOEY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 

which we have built to the service of Al- 
mighty God. 

"For months it has been the scene of in- 
dustry. Early and late we have labored to 
make it at once substantial and commodious. 

"We have tried to construct it so that in 
neatness and convenience it might be worthy 
of the high purpose to which we set it apart. 

" To-day we open it, and invite you all to 
join us in this joyful dedication service. 

"Henceforth let this house be sacred to 
the purposes of divine worship. 

"Here let the Bible speak. 

" May the burdened heart here find relief. 
Here may the afflicted find consolation, and 
may all find this house to be the gate of 
heaven." 

The singing of a hymn written for the 
occasion by Samuel Mathers of San Jose 
closed the services. 

Two stanzas of the hymn were as follows : — 

" On Zion's hill, in ancient days. 
Jehovah's fane in glory stood, 
Where Israel oft convened to praise 
Their mighty Saviour, wise and good. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 53 



" So let thy glory now appear, 

O God of truth, thy cause to bless ; 
May thousands flock together here, 
And our Redeemer's name confess." 

The city papers, the next morning, gave 
full description of the occasion, and said that 
the house marked the opening of a new era 
in the construction of public buildings in 
the city, especially inasmuch as it was more 
substantial, and was finished with plastered 
walls and ceiling, — a transition from the 
traditional cloth and paper lining. 

The week went by, and I had prepared to 
meet my own congregation for the first time 
by themselves in our new house of worship. 

We assembled, as usual, at eleven o'clock 
on Sabbath morning. 

The services opened with the invocation 
and the singing of the first hymn. 

I rose and commenced the reading of 
Scripture, when tap, tap, tap, rang out the 
fire-alarm from the monumental engine bell, 
and almost before I could look up, the con- 
gregation was disappearing with a rush from 
the doors, for the public nerve in San Fran- 



54 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



cisco had come to be keenly sensitive to the 
alarm of fire. 

Shutting the Bible, I followed them as fast 
as I could, and spent the rest of the day in 
trying to help those who were working hard 
to save valuable things from the flames. 

This fire started well up in the north- 
western part of the city, and burned over an 
area not touched by the preceding May fire. 
Though it was disastrous to some other 
churches, it affected us but little. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 55 



CHAPTER IV. 

We were now so well established as a 
church and congregation, that our enter- 
prise was no longer regarded as an experi- 
ment. 

The steamers were bringing a few families 
every month, and some of them made their 
homes in the cottages in and near the valley. 

It was pleasant to give them an early wel- 
come, and if there were children, invite them 
to join our Sabbath school. 

As weeks and months went by, the church 
fell into its own line of practical work as it 
opened before us. 

From the first we had sought to gather in 
all the children we could find. 

They were more permanent than most of 
the grown people, and less under the excite- 
ment and dissipating influence of the time. 
The Pastor was fortunate in having a num- 
ber of very competent and enthusiastic 
teachers who gave a great deal of time to 



56 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



their work. Among these were Mr. D. N. 
Hawley, Mr. T. J. Nevins, and Major A. B. 
Eaton. 

There are those living now who were then 
pupils, and who speak with profound respect 
of these men and of the instruction in the 
gospel received from them. 

With the pastor, his pulpit-preparation 
was his first care. It was sought not only in 
the morning study, but in the afternoon 
study of men. This latter study led him to 
become acquainted with men from many 
parts of the world, having ideas and habits 
respecting religion differing very often from 
each other and from those represented by the 
church we were building. And this study of 
men was of the utmost service in this pioneer 
ministry. 

Our church was situated so far from what 
was then the center of the city, and was 
separated from it by so many ranges of sand- 
drifts, that it could not expect to draw the 
chance crowds, but its duty was more espe- 
cially to serve a slowly growing resident 
population. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 57 

The church and its pastor early dis- 
covered that their own upbuilding and self- 
support were not their whole duty. 

Although but little more than a year old, 
our church was more thoroughly equipped 
than almost any other, and, consequently, 
Christians of our order who were beginning 
to settle in new towns here and there in the 
state began to write to the pastor for in- 
formation as to the possibility of getting 
home missionary help from the East. 

I answered these letters immediately, for 
I knew how quickly towns of a hundred 
people sometimes became little cities of 
thousands of inhabitants, and how impor- 
tant it was to be beforehand with the forces 
of evil, and give good people an early rally- 
ing-point. 

This correspondence grew fast in 1851- 
52, and necessitated constant writing to the 
secretaries of the Home Missionary Society, 
detailing the facts and explaining the 
urgency of the appeal for missionaries. 

But as population poured into the state 
in increasing numbers and new towns 



58 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 

multiplied, it was manifest that something 
more was needed as a medium of informa- 
tion. We saw clearly that we must have a 
weekly religious paper, through which needed 
information could be received and given, 
and regularly conveyed to the Home Mission 
Board, and to some extent to the home 
churches. But how to get it, was the ques- 
tion! We talked and figured and corre- 
sponded about it for more than a year, and 
at last the necessity seemed so pressing that 
we determined to venture. 

My church approved of the undertaking, 
and was willing that I should be one of the 
editors and do my share of the work. 

So The Pacific was commenced in August, 
1851, with a managing editor and three asso- 
ciate editors, who were pastors of young 
churches. 

This involved, for me, at least a day's work 
a week. 

There were, at the time the publication of 
The Pacific was commenced, but little over 
twenty Protestant churches in California, and 
they were but beginnings, scarcely a year 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 59 

old. The new paper, therefore, looked to the 
mines for its support, and it found it there. 
And it more than realized our anticipations 
in bringing to the knowledge of our churches, 
through its correspondence, the real condi- 
tion of the state, and making it known to 
Christians at the East, who were watching 
with deep anxiety the course of things in 
this far-off region. 

A great many parents in homes there 
seized with avidity any paper that gave in- 
formation that was hopeful concerning the 
strange country where their absent sons were. 
At the same time, the paper was the firm and 
ardent advocate of religion and morality in 
every form, and always exposed and de- 
nounced vice, even when it seemed to be 
hopelessly prevalent. Party politics it never 
meddled with, but it never ceased to urge all 
citizens to give time and attention to their 
duties to the state. And when powerful in- 
fluences combined to divide the state in 
order to open the southern half to slavery, 
it did its best to expose the scheme and de- 
feat it. And work of this kind it was obliged 



60 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



to do for years, because the slavery interest 
was strong in every successive legislature. 

The Pacific was a power for good in many 
ways, through all those early years. 

It was our traveling home missionary, go- 
ing through the mails to all parts of the state, 
with little expense for transportation. 

For living preachers, such journeyings 
were then wellnigh impossible. The ex- 
pense was too great, and no man could long 
endure the fatigue and the exposure to heat 
and dust, or cold and wet, which had to be 
encountered. So the paper went on its mis- 
sion every week, preaching the truth, and its 
support was a part of our church-work. 

And as I look back upon it now, after all 
these years, it seems to me that no part of 
that work was more permanently effective in 
the upbuilding of every good thing in the 
city and in the state than this. 

The members of the church and congre- 
gation were among the foremost in planning 
and beginning charitable institutions as they 
were needed. The exposures and hardships 
of the journey to California in those days 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 61 



caused the death of parents on the way, in 
some cases, and their orphan children were 
found destitute in this strange land. 

Mrs. Warren, wife of Rev. J. H. Warren, 
and Mrs. Judge Waller knew of such cases, 
and set about providing a home for them. 
Knowing that there would be more as time 
went on, they thought it best, even then, to 
try and begin an asylum for orphans. The 
proposition met with general approval, and 
the result was the establishment of the Prot- 
estant Orphan Asylum, supported by the 
Protestant churches of the city generally, and 
by business men of the city and state. 

It was the first orphan asylum established 
in California. 

Our church had its part in the work with 
the others, and in the early years we had a 
special relation to it, because the house 
rented for its use was near our church, and 
the first matron was one of our choicest lady 
members, and the children inmates belonged 
to our Sabbath school. 

The origin of the Ladies' Protection and 
Relief Society was still more closely connected 
with our church. 



62 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



Very early in the year 1853, the wife and 
daughter of Major Eaton came from New 
York to join him here. 

Mrs. Eaton was a woman who could not 
content herself to abide anywhere, even for 
a short time, without seeking to plant some 
good influence or institution that would still 
be doing good after she was gone. She often 
expressed this feeling with regard to her 
visit to California. 

Major Eaton found a pleasant house for 
his family home on Broadway, near Mont- 
gomery Street. 

Not very long after the family found them- 
selves settled in housekeeping, something 
occurred that directed Mrs. Eaton's thoughts 
very definitely to a need, in this new coun- 
try, of a refuge for women, or women with 
children, deprived, by death or otherwise, of 
their natural protectors. 

The occurrence was this : A young man 
in the mines wrote to his sister in the East, 
asking her to come to California on the 
steamer of a certain date, promising to meet 
her in San Francisco on her arrival. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 63 



She accepted his invitation, and was a pas- 
senger on the steamer indicated. 

She was given a place in a state-room with 
another woman, a well-appearing lady, ap- 
parently in middle life. When the steamer 
arrived here, the young man, for some reason, 
failed to meet his sister. Of course she was 
in distress; far from home, in a very strange 
country, knowing no one, and having not 
the least idea where to go. 

The woman with whom she had shared the 
state-room immediately invited the young 
lady to go with her, for the time being, to 
her own home, which invitation the lone 
stranger was only too glad to accept. 

But what was her consternation on dis- 
covering, before long, that she was in a house 
where no young lady ought to be! Moreover, 
there were other young women there, and 
she became aware that her movements were 
watched. Terror-stricken, and not knowing 
how to escape, nor where to find a refuge, she 
maintained as calm a demeanor as she could. 
But in her despair, watching her opportunity, 
she slipped out of the house, without hat or 



64 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



shawl, and ran as for her life! As she was 
going down Broadway, past a home-like ap- 
pearing house, she looked up and saw a 
kindly appearing lady sitting at the window, 
and in an instant it occurred to her to go in 
and ask her what to do. Quickly she rang 
the door-bell, and was admitted. 

The house was Major Eaton's, and Mrs. 
Eaton was the lady at the window, whose 
look inspired hope in the young girl's heart, 
and induced her to seek admission at that 
door. 

She told her story to Mrs. Eaton, and was 
believed. 

When Major Eaton came home, on learn- 
ing the facts he took an officer with him, 
and went to the house from which the girl 
escaped, and got her trunk and her clothing, 
and from that time the young girl found her- 
self among friends. 

This incident was enough to suggest to 
Mrs. Eaton that there would be many cases 
in which women in trouble from one cause 
or another would need protection or relief, 
and immediately she began to inquire with 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 65 

herself whether she might not be the means, 
during her stay in San Francisco, of founding 
an institution that would supply this need. 

As she reflected on it, the thought grew 
upon her. She talked about it with other 
ladies. Mrs. Goddard, wife of one of the elders 
of our church, became especially interested 
in the idea. 

Groups of ladies belonging to other con- 
gregations met in our parlor, and talked the 
matter over. 

At length Mrs. Eaton drew up a constitu- 
tion and submitted it for consideration. 

In due time a meeting of all ladies interested 
in forming a society was called to meet, if 
my memory serves me, in the Baptist Church, 
on Pine Street, near Montgomery Street. 
The meeting was held accordingly, and the 
result was the formation of the " San Fran- 
cisco Ladies' Protection and Relief Society. " 

The first house secured by the society for 
a home was situated, I think, on Clementina 
Street, near First Street, and was put in 
charge of an excellent lady matron, and so 
the institution began at once to subserve its 
benevolent purpose. 



66 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



Another benevolent work, also, engaged the 
attention of the church, with others, in the 
city. Rev. William Speer came here to see 
what could be done for the Chinamen, for 
they had already become quite numerous. 
Mr. Speer had been a missionary in China, 
and knew the Chinese language well. He 
very soon became convinced that a mission 
ought to be established here for that people. 
He proposed it to our Christian citizens 
generally, and received a good deal of en- 
couragement, more especially since he him- 
self would remain and head the enterprise, 
receiving his own support from the Presby- 
terian Home Board. 

A building, however, was wanted in which 
to begin the work, and this must be pro- 
vided for here. 

A plan was made for a brick two-story 
building, to be situated on Stockton Street, 
at the corner of Sacramento Street. This 
was a matter of pretty large expense in those 
days, but Mr. Speer was a wise and able 
man, and he succeeded in awakening such 
interest in the enterprise, that the work 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 67 

was accomplished. The building was dedi- 
cated in June, 1854. The members of our 
church and congregation did their full share 
toward supporting this mission. 

One member of our board of trustees, 
Henry Haight, 1 manager of Page, Bacon, and 
Company's bank, took a deep interest in the 
undertaking, and was one of the largest 
donors to the building fund. 

Very soon after the dedication of our 
church, a lady friend of our congregation, 
thinking that our nice new audience-room 
ought to be furnished with a suitable organ, 
mentioned the matter to several business 
men, friends of hers. 2 

Perhaps it occurred to her more readily be- 
cause she was intimately acquainted with a 

1 Mr. Haight was one of our most public-spirited and 
generous business men. 

He took interest in the founding of the Ladies' Prot- 
estant Orphan Asylum, going with them to select the 
site where it now stands, and helped secure it from the 
city. 

Every philanthropic and Christian undertaking 
found in him a generous and open-handed friend. 

2 This lady's name was Mrs. Wilson, wife of Mr. 
John Y. Wilson, one of the business men of the time. 



68 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



builder of church organs in the East. At 
any rate, she became deeply interested in the 
idea of our having an organ. It seemed at 
first that the plan was premature, for not one 
of the young churches in the city had yet 
thought of providing itself with so expensive 
an instrument. But when a lady undertook 
a thing in those days, it was apt to succeed. 
So. before long, through the generosity of the 
merchants and business men, the purchase- 
money was obtained, and the organ was or- 
dered. It was built accordingly, and shipped 
around Cape Horn, and in due time it came. 

A man was found who had been trained 
to the business, and he was engaged to set it 
up. The work progressed slowly, and the 
time seemed long, but at last it was done, 
and the inspiring harmonies of the organ 
filled us with new delight. 

Among the young musicians in the city 
there were several accomplished organists. 

They came and tried our instrument, and 
pronounced it excellent. It made the church 
seem indeed like home. 

Mr. George F. Pettinos was finally secured 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 69 

as organist and musical director. He came 
from Philadelphia, and was a young musician 
of culture and excellent taste, and was espe- 
cially fond of the organ. 

And so was I, for that matter, and we had 
a long and delightful acquaintance in the 
selection of hymns and music for public wor- 
ship. 

He became, at length, personally interested 
in the worship itself, and all its services, and 
grew more so as years went by. 

He remained in his place as organist long 
after I left the pastorate. 

I went back on a certain Sabbath to preach 
in exchange with the minister then pastor. 
Mr. Pettinos asked me to select as one of the 
hymns the one beginning — 

" I heard the voice of Jesus say, 
' Come unto me and rest ; 
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down 
Thy head upon my breast.' 

" I came to Jesus as I was, 

Weary, and worn, and sad ; 
I found in Him a resting-place, 
And he hath made me glad." 



70 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



The hymn was sung, and it made an im- 
pression on me that I shall never forget. 
The organ itself seemed to speak the words, 
and breathe the sentiment, almost as if they 
were its own. 

I never met Mr. Pettinos after that, but 
when, later, I heard that he had passed from 
earth, I thought that in his selection of that 
hymn that day, when we were once more in 
our places, as of old, he wanted to express 
that profound and tender trust in Jesus 
which had become his own personal ex- 
perience. 

Returning now to the general condition of 
things in our part of the city, it should be 
mentioned that great changes were taking 
place. Second Street was cut through from 
Market Street to Rincon Hill. Other streets 
were graded. All the cottages were occupied 
by families, and many houses were in pro- 
cess of building. 

Captain Cheever and Mr. Dow went even 
so far away as to the top of Rincon Hill, and 
built themselves tasteful homes, though some 
of their business friends told them that they 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 71 

had gone altogether too far from the city for 
convenience. 

As families were coming now in increas- 
ing numbers by every steamer, attention was 
attracted largely to this section of the city as 
being easy of access, and somewhat less ex- 
posed to the winds than the northern and 
western hills, and so it came to pass at length 
that some of the finest residences in the city 
were built on Folsom Street and on Harrison 
Street, and, later, South Park became the 
fashionable quarter. 

The wisdom of the early location of our 
church in this section became clear enough, 
and the commencement of other churches 
soon followed. 

Eev. M. C. Briggs of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church gathered a congregation in the 
carpenter-shop as soon as we left it to enter 
our new church. 

And within a year, I think, thereafter, Rev. 
Marion McAllister asked for the use of our 
church on Sabbath afternoons, for the pur- 
pose of forming an Episcopal church, which 
request was readily granted, and the result 



72 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



was the beginning of the 14 Church of the 
Advent." 

But notwithstanding the sharing of the 
field with these new churches, our church 
ana congregation grew and increased in in- 
fluence, not only in the city, but in the state 
at large. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 73 



CHAPTER V. 

The membership of the church had grown 
in numbers. 

The elders first chosen having left the 
state, it was determined that their successors 
should be chosen at the regular meeting of the 
church on December 14, 1853. On that date 
the election took place, and resulted in the 
choice of William A. Palmer, E. B. Goddard, 
Franklin Knox, and Elijah Bigelow. 

The difficult work of reorganizing things 
and bringing them into order was under- 
taken by the Session. It had all sorts of 
work to do, — not only that usually belong- 
ing to the eldership, but, in the newness of 
everything, they had to plan for every in- 
terest of the church in its changing cir- 
cumstances, — spiritual, social, financial, and 
what-not, — and the trustees of the society 
carried out the plans, and a very efficient 
circle of ladies gave their important aid. 

And so the interests of the church were 
cared for. 



74 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



The community was watched on all sides, 
and newcomers were visited. If children 
were seen playing on the hillsides, some- 
body went soon to find to whom they belonged, 
in order to invite them to our church and 
Sabbath school. 

Steamships were arriving twice a month, 
and ships were coming in from around Cape 
Horn every week, bringing people bound for 
the mines, and many of them came to pitch 
their tents near us while they were fitting out 
for their journey to the mountains. 

Some fell sick, and must be looked after. 
All were strangers, and needed information. 
The Sunday school needed constant looking 
after, for we made it always a foremost in- 
stitution of the church. Very early some of 
the young men began to go out into the un- 
occupied parts of the city on Sunday after- 
noons to gather children into Sunday schools, 
and they needed help. There are churches 
in the city to-day that are the outgrowth of 
these beginnings. 

Churches in new towns, that were begin- 
ning under trees, or in shops, or such unoc- 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 75 



cupiecl rooms as they could find, were fre- 
quently coming for help and advice, and 
there were no "church-building boards" to 
refer to in those days. 

In the midst of all this, the minister, in his 
inexperience, often got bewildered and half- 
discouraged, but a session-meeting was a 
good tonic, and was sure to put life into a 
week's work. In the midst of perplexities, a 
half-hour spent in prayer together often 
cleared things, and brightened the faces of 
all. We were as confidential as brothers, and 
in conference so universally came to be of 
one mind, that, in the twelve years we con- 
stituted the session, I do not remember a 
single vote that was not unanimous. And 
yet, in those years, the matters coming before 
us for determination were so various, there 
were often plenty of opportunities for marked 
differences of opinion. 

We nearly always met for an hour once a 
week, and sometimes two or three times a 
week, and the needs of the church life were 
never lost sight of. 

It is a precious memory, that of the ses- 



76 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 

sion. My study, where we used to meet, is 
long since gone; and the members, they are 
gone. And that whole section of the city 
has changed from residence to business, and 
blocks of stores have come to occupy it; but 
the memory of that session, and the study in 
which we met, and the plain church beside 
which it stood, is so vivid, that I have but to 
close my eyes to see it all as it was. 

And I like to go there and call back the 
past, now, after fifty years, and allow it in 
thought to become present, and forget for 
the moment that I shall not meet the 
same individuals any more, nor see the wel- 
come of their countenances, nor hear their 
familiar voices. I walk slowly along the 
streets, and see here and there doors yet re- 
maining where I used to call. Those doors, 
— they remind me so of the people I used to 
go to see there, that the feeling comes over 
me, "Now, I ought to have called there be- 
fore; it is too long since I paid them a 
visit." 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 77 



VI. 

It was not only the members of the ses- 
sion that were a tower of strength to the 
young church, but other members of the 
church, also. 

Of these I could not fail to mention Cap- 
tain E. Knight, the agent, in this city, of the 
Pacific Mail Steamship Company, and Major 
(since Major-General) Amos B. Eaton, com- 
missary of subsistence, United States army, 
in San Francisco. 

These well-known business men were a 
help to us that cannot be overestimated. 

They were with us very early, even before 
we left the carpenter-shop chapel to enter 
our new church in 1851. 

No business man in San Francisco oc- 
cupied at that time a position of so great 
responsibility and influence as Captain 
Knight. 

The Pacific Mail Company's office was the 
center of business in the city. Captain 



78 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



Knight was selected to organize the com- 
pany's business at this end of the line be- 
cause he was a distinguished seaman, and 
because he had shown very great ability in 
the handling of commercial affairs in the 
New York and Liverpool trade. 

No sooner had Captain Knight entered his 
office here, than he saw what havoc the sail- 
ing of steamers made of the Sabbath, when 
that happened to be the sailing-day. All 
early Californians know what " steamer-day " 
meant in those days. It put everybody to 
work. The steamship-office was besieged 
from morning till night. Express-offices 
were crowded, and their messengers and 
teams were running in hot haste all day. All 
banks were open, doing a rushing business, 
with merchants calling for bills of exchange, 
and miners depositing their bags of gold-dust 
and taking their certificates; passengers about 
leaving, hurrying to get their "last things" 
for the voyage, and going early aboard to 
receive there the " good-by calls " of friends; 
everybody writing letters home, and crowd- 
ing them into the post-office up to the last 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 



79 



moment; newsboys crying their " steamer 
papers" for sale all about the streets; while 
merchants and clerks were closing their final 
dispatches to go by Wells and Fargo; and 
then, at the hour of sailing, the crowd of 
passengers on the steamer's deck answer to 
the noisy farewells of the still larger crowds 
gathered on the wharf, and the great ship 
glides out into the bay, — and that " steamer 
day's " excitement is over. Captain Knight 
at once determined that " steamer day " 
should not occur on Sunday. 

And so it was soon ordered that when it 
would regularly take place on that day, the 
Saturday preceding should be " steamer day." 
That change meant much for San Francisco. 

It meant everything for all religious ob- 
servances and Christian teaching. 

It was the first positive and emphatic 
public recognition of the Sabbath as a day of 
rest among business men, and it had a moral 
influence far wider than simply to save the 
Sabbath from secular work; for it quickened 
the public conscience with respect to other 
things belonging to religion, that had not, 
up to that time, received attention. 



80 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



Moreover. Captain Knight's example was 
in full accord with his principles. 

His language was wholl} 7 free from the ex- 
pletives so common with seamen, and which 
were so nearly universal among men here 
at that time. He used no strong drink, and 
never touched tobacco. 

He did no business on the Sabbath, nor 
did he spend the day abroad in recreation, 
but in rest in his own home with his family. 
He was always at church with them on Sab- 
bath morning, and often brought along with 
him sea captains who were in port, — some- 
times a whole pew full. 

The value and extent of Captain Knight's 
influence in all those restless years is hard 
now to imagine or describe. Every good 
cause felt its support. After three years of 
exhausting service, he resigned his office, but 
was attacked with brain fever, and, though 
everything was done for him that medical 
skill could suggest, in a few days he died. 

The high respect and honor in which he 
was held by the bankers and merchants is 
touchingly expressed in resolutions adopted 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 81 

at a meeting held by them soon after his 
death, one of which was as follows: — 

"Resolved, That Captain Knight combined 
in his character in an eminent degree those 
noble, manly qualities which entitled him not 
only to the respect and confidence but to the 
affectionate regard of all who knew him best. 

" With a firm integrity of purpose which 
never faltered, with a keen sense of honor 
which scorned an evasion, with a straight- 
forward honesty which resorted to no sub- 
terfuges, he combined with simplicity of heart 
a frankness of demeanor which commanded 
the respect whilst it secured the affection- 
ate esteem of all with whom he was brought 
into contact. Scrupulously just in his busi- 
ness relations, generous almost to a fault 
when his sympathies were appealed to, gen- 
tle and confiding in his temper, always ready 
to forgive a fault in others, he judged harshly 
only of his own imperfections." 

That characterization, be it remembered, 
was drawn by the business men of San Fran- 
cisco, not especially his personal friends, — 
but who could have drawn his character 



82 



HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



more true to life? Knowing him well, I 
bear witness to its accuracy in every partic- 
ular. 

Major Eaton, of the army, came to Cali- 
fornia almost as early as Captain Knight. 

I remember well the Sabbath in 1851 
when he appeared with some friends in the 
congregation. 

It was no uncommon thing to see strangers 
present in those days, but men of his bear- 
ing, and connected with government offices, 
were not numerous in any of our half-dozen 
congregations, and I noticed him with en- 
couragement and pleasure. 

After service he stopped and was in- 
troduced. 

We found that we had many common 
friends in Xew York, and then began one of 
the most pleasant Christian friendships of my 
life. 

The next day I called on him at the 
Oriental Hotel. He inquired concerning all 
our plans of Christian work, and from that 
time he identified himself with us in all our 
undertakings. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 83 

He was a soldier, accustomed to military 
exactness in all his business transactions, 
confining them to business hours. 

At the head of the commissary depart- 
ment for the Pacific Coast, the business he 
controlled was very large, and brought him 
in contact with the leading merchants of the 
city and state. 

Outside of business hours, he gave his 
time largely to Christian and benevolent 
work. 

He united with our church and joined the 
Sabbath school, very soon accepting its 
superintendency. 

He was always present at our mid-week 
prayer-meetings, and by his thoughtful, sin- 
cere, and earnest remarks contributed greatly 
to their spiritual helpfulness. 

He accepted a place on the board of church 
trustees, and his influence and business talent 
were of very great value in that body. 

In thinking over this life-record, I see that 
the strong point in it was a heroic interest in 
the welfare of this new °vnd great country. 
There were few in the social chaos of that 



84 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



day who were animated with the same high 
purpose. 

And in those days, when public sentiment 
was forming, his influence, though exerted 
quietly, was great. 

In 1853, Mrs. Eaton joined her husband 
here, and remained some twelve or eighteen 
months. I have already spoken of Mrs. 
Eaton as the founder of the Ladies' Protec- 
tion and Relief Society. 

Never were husband and wife in more full 
accord in respect to matters moral, religious, 
or philanthropic than were they. Mrs. 
Eaton kept her carriage on the go every day, 
and her errands out were more for the bene- 
fit of others than pleasure for herself. Mrs. 
Eaton was a woman of great force of char- 
acter, and of a singularly strong and simple 
Christian faith. 

Though she was only a visitor here in 
California, she wanted to make her stay of 
some real service, and, if possible, plant some 
institution that would live and do good after 
she was gone. And as long as the institu- 
tion which she founded stands, it will be a 
fitting monument to the name of Mrs. Eaton. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 85 



VII. 

I have mentioned the name of Mr. William 
A. Palmer in connection with the formation 
of the church in 1850. He had been here, at 
that time, only some three months, — but long 
enough to become an enthusiastic Californian. 
He returned East the same year, but only to 
come back with his whole family to make 
their home in this city. The father and 
mother, two daughters, one son, and an infant 
child arrived here in February, 1852, — one 
son had been here since 1849, — and two 
older daughters came later, in 1853, — a 
family of nine! The long, hard journey was 
too much for the little infant boy, and he 
survived their arrival but a little time. His 
loss almost broke the mother's heart, and 
made it very hard for her for a good while 
to feel as if California could ever be home to 
her. 

But such a family as that coming to reside, 
and join our congregation, — it was some- 



86 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



thing the like of which had hardly been 
known up to that time, in any one of the 
churches in the city. 

How heartily we welcomed them! 

Mr. Palmer was an experienced business 
man; had been a deacon in an Eastern 
church; was an earnest, spiritual Christian, 
who thoroughly enjoyed taking part in 
every branch of church-work, and was en- 
thusiastic about laying Christian foundations 
in California. He was a man of quick per- 
ception, sound judgment, and firmness of 
purpose. 

He could be depended on as a trustee in 
the management of church finances, and he 
could be depended on as a church member 
and elder to give time and patient attention 
to all the detail of church affairs, often so 
perplexing in a community such as this was 
at that early day. 

He was a man with whom religion was the 
first thing. 

It was so in his home, where family wor- 
ship was as regular, morning and evening, 
as the rising and setting of the sun. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 87 

He was a man of prayer. 

In ordinary speech he sometimes inclined 
to stammer. But never in prayer. Never 
a trace of it could be noticed when he was 
speaking to his Father in heaven. 

He was a man eminently social. His home 
was always bright with sympathetic life. The 
father enjoyed the children, and the children 
enjoyed their father; but the mother easily 
held the first place there. 

Mr. Palmer was a bright-minded man, and 
quick at repartee. 

When the opening of Natoma Street, 
through the sand-hill in front of the church, 
was going on, it was found that the building 
stood several feet above the grade, and that 
care must be taken, or the sand w r ould slide 
down from under the church and weaken the 
foundation. Mr. Palmer watched the work 
as it progressed, to see whether it would en- 
danger the church. 

He observed that the northwest corner of 
the building rested on a solid stump and 
root of an oak tree which had been cut down 
when the church was built. 



88 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



That stump and its roots the graders found 
quite in their way, and set about digging and 
cutting it out. Just then Mr. Palmer came 
along, and seeing what they were doing, 
asked them not to dig out that great root, for, 
as they could see, it would endanger the 
foundation of the church. 

"But," said the foreman, u is n't this the 
Lord's house, and won't he uphold his own 
church?" 

" Yes, he will," replied Mr. Palmer; u and 
he put that stump there for that very pur- 
pose." 

Mr. Palmer and his family made the pros- 
perity of the church their personal care, yet 
not in a way to seem unduly to control things. 

If extra money was to be raised for repairs 
or refurnishings or enlargements, they were 
among the foremost in devising ways of get- 
ting it. 

A great deal of effort was necessary at that 
time, in the social line, to bring newcomers 
together to meet the old residents, — that is to 
say, those who had been here more than a 
year. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 89 

The pastor was fortunate in having large 
parlors, where frequent entertainments could 
be held, bringing together members and 
friends of the church and congregation. 

In preparation for these, and in all that 
was necessary to make them a success, the 
Palmer family always took a leading part. 

They were especially considerate of the 
pastor, and delicately thoughtful of his wel- 
fare and that of his family. 

In due time the names of all of them were 
borne on the membership-roll of the church, 
thus realizing the most cherished hope of 
the father and mother. 

Mr. E. B. Goddard, another member of 
our session, who was here in 1850, at the or- 
ganization of the Religious Society, went 
East and returned in 1851, bringing his wife 
and little adopted boy with him. 

They came from Vermont, and at once 
made their home in the valley, and united 
with our church. 

Mr. Goddard was engaged in the foundry 
business on First Street, and the family resi- 
dence was on Mission Street. 



90 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



They were very intelligent and cultivated 
people, who appreciated the opportunity of 
taking part in founding here a new state, 
and in beginning in it the institutions of the 
Christian religion. 

They early took an interest, also, in plant- 
ing schools, especially an academy, which 
might grow into a college. 

Their home had been in Middlebury, Ver- 
mont, and they had not failed to become 
impressed with the importance of the early 
establishment of a Christian college in a 
new state, more especially as they had seen it 
illustrated in the history of Middlebury Col- 
lege, with which they were familiar. 

They were people who came to California 
to live and make it their home, and to do their 
utmost, with all of like purpose, to make it 
a Christian state. 

Mrs. Goddard gave her time largely to 
Christian and philanthropic work. 

She looked after people who were sick, and 
sent her carriage to give an airing to little 
folks who were recovering from sickness. 

She was among the foremost in all church- 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 91 

work, calling on strangers, interesting them 
in our plans, and inviting them to take part 
with us. 

Mrs. Goddard was one of the ladies who 
organized the " Ladies' Protection and Relief 
Society," and was foremost in putting it into 
operation. 

At first it was very difficult to find a suit- 
able house, and then there was the liability 
of being obliged to move, and the uncertainty 
that would follow. The great want of the 
institution was a permanent home. 

It weighed upon Mrs. Goddard's mind, 
and she studied all possible expedients to 
obtain one. The first necessity was ground 
to put it on. 

If that could be had, it might be possible 
to raise the money necessary to put up a 
house. But to get money enough to buy the 
land, at prices ruling at that time, — that 
seemed to be out of the question. 

But somehow a bright thought occurred 
to her. 

She and Mr. Goddard knew Mr. and Mrs. 
Horace Hawes very well. Mr. Hawes owned 



92 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 

a great deal of city real estate; and who could 
know but that he would give them a site for 
the institution? 

He was a man of very peculiar ideas, to be 
sure, about some things, but still he was 
known to be a generous and philanthropic 
man, and perhaps he would take to the idea 
of giving them ground on which to build 
their home. At any rate, it was worth the 
trial, Mrs. Goddard thought, and so she went 
and laid the matter before Judge Hawes. 

I knew Judge Hawes's peculiarities so well, 
that I am sure the interview must have been 
long and interesting, and the particulars of 
the matter were surely gone thoroughly into. 

But in the end the application was success- 
ful, and Judge Hawes gave to the society an 
entire block of ground on Franklin Street, 
between Geary and Post streets. 

It seemed far away at that time, for im- 
provements of property had not extended 
anywhere near so far west, and the whole 
region was covered with grass and shrubbery. 
But it was a princely gift, and could be 
made early use of by the society. It must 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 93 

have been an exceedingly great gratification 
to Mrs. Goddard to report this gift at that 
time, and thus solve the real problem of the 
perpetuity and usefulness of the institution. 

And now that surrounding improvements 
have increased the value of the property to 
so great a degree, and the institution with all 
its inmates has so choice a home there, it is 
fitting that not only the name of Judge 
Hawes, the giver of that valuable block of 
land, should be gratefully remembered, but 
also the name of Mrs. Fanny Goddard, who 
asked it in the name of the society, and so 
presented the matter as to obtain the gift. 

It was in 1853 that Dr. Franklin Knox 
and his family joined us. They were from 
St. Louis, and came to California to make 
their home. Dr. Knox had been an elder in 
a Presbyterian church in St. Louis. He did 
not practice his profession here, but asso- 
ciated himself with his brother, Richard F. 
Knox, in commercial business. They both 
joined our church on April 10, 1853. 

Both these gentlemen proved an impor- 
tant accession to our membership. 



94 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



Dr. Knox was a man of fine education, 
well read in current affairs, entertaining 
positive opinions, and accustomed, at times, 
to give them expression through the press. 
His experience in ecclesiastical affairs made 
him a very important member of our ses- 
sion. 

From the first he entered heartily into our 
plans of church-work. 

He took in the whole situation, and saw 
the opportunity then open for the church to 
help in obtaining a competent ministry for 
the state, — in making the scattered Chris- 
tians acquainted with each other by means 
of the circulation of The Pacific, informing 
them of the plans of Christian progress, and 
inviting them to join in their prosecution. 

He was a man of broad views, and full of 
the spirit of enterprise. And at the same 
time he was a man of faith and prayer. 

He was a man of acknowledged influence 
in the city, and took an active part in its 
affairs. 

On the same day with Dr. Knox and his 
brother, Mr. Elijah Bigelow and his wife, 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 95 



Mrs. Emma Bigelow, from Charlestown, Mas- 
sachusetts, united with our church. 

Mr. Bigelow was a quiet, retiring man, who 
said but little in public, but a man always 
to be depended on at the post of duty. 

A man of fine feelings and spirituality of 
mind, possessed of sound judgment and rare 
executive ability, he proved to be one of our 
ablest helpers in every good work. 

He was valued in the session for his wise 
counsel, and whatever he undertook to do in 
the service of the church was sure to be 
done, and done in time. 

His was another precious family added to 
our social circle, which, by this time, had be- 
come exceedingly enjoyable. 

It was composed of gentlemen and ladies 
in the prime of life, together with some that 
were younger, coming from various parts of 
the country, but a more pleasant and har- 
monious group of neighbors never came to- 
gether, I am sure, in any new city. Among 
those whose names I have not previously 
mentioned, I recall those of Mr. and Mrs. 
Christy and Mr. and Mrs. David Brown, 



96 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



who came in 1851; and Mr. Robert Thomp- 
son and his daughters, and Mr. Henderson, 
who came in 1852; also, Mr. and Mrs. W. H. 
Hyde, and Judge and Mrs. Hiland Hall, from 
Vermont. Judge Hall had been governor of 
that state, and came here, by appointment of 
the United States government, as one of the 
land commission to settle California land 
titles. Also, Mr. J. Snowden Bacon, a grad- 
uate of Yale, and his young wife, from New 
Haven. 

Mr. and Mrs. Redman 1 with their children 
arrived earlier, and so, also, did Mr. and Mrs. 
Piercy, with their children. 

Very early, Mr. and Mrs. Butler arrived 
from Massachusetts, but Mr. Butler was taken 
sick almost immediately, with, I think, Pa- 
nama fever, and soon died. It was a heavy 
affliction to the young wife, thus left alone in 
a strange land, far from home. 

1 Mr. William Henry Redman and his wife, Sarah Cor- 
nelia Redman, with their children, arrived in San Fran- 
cisco, September 1, 1849. They crossed the plains with 
an ox-team, coming from the state of Indiana. 

Their two eldest daughters, Harriet and Isabel, were of 
the original six children who formed the Sabbath school 
on Sabbath, May 19, 1850. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 97 

But new friends gathered quickly around 
her, and she found that she was not alone 
and did not lack friends. She was brave, 
and had faith in her heavenly Father, and 
she became one of the most beloved and use- 
ful of all our society of ladies. 

Mr. and Mrs. George W. Beaver found a 
home in one of the cottages in the valley, 
early in 1852. 

They were young people from the state of 
Ohio, recently married. At once they were 
welcomed among us, and their home became 
a center of attractive social life. It is very 
pleasant to recall its brightness and good 
cheer, now, after so many years have passed. 

Speaking of this home of newly married 
people reminds me of another, — that of Mr. 
and Mrs. Barney Hinckley. 

Mr. Hinckley was a member of the firm of 
Egery and Hinckley, previously mentioned. 

He had been in California long enough to 
establish a successful business. He had 
built a house on Second Street, and furnished 
it, and meanwhile had sent East for his 
mother to come out and join him, and to 



98 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



bring with her the young lady to whom he 
was engaged to be married. 

In due time they arrived, but his mother 
had contracted the Panama fever on the way, 
and before long she died. 

The marriage took place on November 5, 
1851, and the new house was at once oc- 
cupied, and became a center of refined and 
cheerful social life. 

Not quite all who came to us in the early 
times were young in years, but they were young 
in spirit. Colonel George S. Mann came from 
New York with his family, about this time. 
He was in the prime of life, and ready to 
meet the experiences of a new country. 

He had been a man of influence in New 
York, holding many responsible positions. 
He was one of the delegates to the convention 
that revised the constitution of the state of 
New York. He engaged in mercantile busi- 
ness, and built a house for his home, not far 
from us, on Howard Street. 

He was a man of very regular and syste- 
matic life, a gentleman of the old school in 
manners, enjoying the respect of all who 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 99 

knew him. He did not make public pro- 
fession of religion, but he was a religious 
man, as his whole life showed. No member 
of our congregation was more constant than 
he in attendance at church, and no hearer 
listened to preaching with closer attention or 
a more generous appreciation. 

He was among the most liberal in contrib- 
uting to the support of the church, and gave 
willing and patient attention to its business 
as a member of the board of trustees. 

His home was bright with cheery social 
life, and every good cause found in him a 
friend. 

Next door to him was the home of Mr. and 
Mrs. Jacob K. Bassford, whom I married on 
September 19, 1851. 

One Sabbath morning, early in 1853, as 
the congregation was assembling, a whole 
family, just arrived, came in together, the 
father and mother with their five children, — 
a family group, the like of which we had not 
seen in our church, or indeed in California, 
before. It was the family of Mr. J. B. Lyle, 
coming from the state of Maine, and resum- 



L .of C. 



100 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



ing here, at the very beginning, their habit 
of church-attendance together. 

It was observed, and spoken of with great 
pleasure, and they received a hearty welcome. 

Mr. Lyle had arrived in California a year or 
two before, and sent for his family to come 
by way of Cape Horn. He had built his 
house on Howard Street, not far from our 
church, and there he received them from the 
ship on their arrival. 

The surrounding neighborhood was not 
inviting, the sand-hills were undisturbed, 
and the general aspect was desert-like, but 
before many months it was not so around 
that home. A little timely culture, and the 
sowing of seeds, with the use of water, de- 
veloped the fact that the barren sand, under 
this treatment, would become a garden of 
beauty. It was something of a revelation, 
and made that home, with its beautiful 
adornments of flowers, a lesson of encourage- 
ment for other home-makers. 

The whole family was soon identified with 
our church and Sabbath school work and 
with our social life. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 101 

Mr. William H. Dow and Capt. H. A. Chee- 
ver built houses on the west side of Second 
Street, near Harrison Street, on the top of 
Rincon Hill. It did seem pretty far from 
the city at first, but it was not very long be- 
fore others chose a similar elevation for their 
homes, overlooking the city and the bay and 
the entire surrounding country. Mr. Palmer 
built his home there, and esteemed the loca- 
tion as almost ideal. 

Mrs. Sarah Harnden came from Boston 
with her two boys, and at once was welcomed 
to our circle of ladies. 

Mrs. Harnden's husband was distinguished, 
as the man who began the express business 
in Boston, which has become national, and 
has grown to such immense proportions in 
later years. After his death the mother 
came with her two sons to California. 

They were a great addition to our social 
circle and our Christian life, and ultimately 
made their home in the state. 1 

1 Some years later, Mrs. Harnden became the wife of 
Judge Samuel A. Hastings, who helped to organize the 
Religious Society in 1850, and later united with the 



102 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



Judge 0. L. Shafter came to California 
with his family about this time, and selected 
a residence near us. He was from Vermont, 
and with a brother, who was also a lawyer, 
established a law firm that became one of 
the most prominent in the city. He was an 
indefatigable worker, but gave his evenings 
to enjoyment in his home with his wife and 
children. 

They were a very choice and highly ap- 
preciated addition to our church and social 
circle. 

It was very natural that a lawyer of such 
ability, industry, and integrity as Judge 
Shafter was should, later, become chief jus- 
tice of the supreme court. 

Henry B. Janes and family joined us in 
1853. Mr. Janes was a lawyer, and gave 
much attention to public education, and was 
elected city superintendent of public instruc- 
tion. 

He served at a time when a determined 

church. He was for a long time a member of the board 
of trustees, and was untiring in seeking to build up the 
church in every way. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 103 

effort was made to include sectarian schools 
in the public school system, — a measure 
which he successfully opposed. 

Mr. and Mrs. Isaac E. Davis moved into 
our neighborhood, and with their family 
joined our congregation. Mr. Davis was 
from Massachusetts. He was a well-known 
merchant, a liberal-minded man, and the 
family was warmly welcomed among us. 

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lux, also, united 
with us. 

Colonel and Mrs. Charles Doane, with 
their family, coming among us about this 
time, added greatly to our strength in church 
and Sabbath school work. 

A little later came Mr. and Mrs. T. B. 
Bigelow and family, from Massachusetts, and 
also Hon. Sherman Day and family, adding 
greatly to our social and religious strength. 

Among the young merchants who were 
members of the congregation were William 
Alvord and his brothers. Later, their wid- 
owed mother came out from New York to 
join them. She was indeed a power in the 
Christian life, and every good and patriotic 



104 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



cause found a vigorous support in her as long 
as she lived. 

Mr. Maurice C. Blake, a young lawyer from 
Maine, joined our congregation, and was 
noted for the constancy of his attendance. 
Later, in the municipal reconstruction of the 
city, he was chosen mayor, and afterward 
judge of the county court. 

At the same time, Mr. George M. Blake, 
a young man from New York, was with us. 
He became a member of the church, and 
took a very active interest in its affairs. He 
was for a long time a member of the board 
of trustees. 

Among the young unmarried men with 
us in the early days were David N. Hawley, 
Charles Hawley, Walter M. Hawley, and 
George T. Hawley. 

Also, Israel W. Knox, Charles Knox, Wil- 
liam Knox, and Henry Knox. 

Also, George C. Potter and his brother, 
Charles S. Potter, and George W. Armes and 
his brother, William Armes, and Samuel 
Foster. 

Mr. and Mrs. Eells came from Maine, with 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 105 

a group of sons and daughters, all singers, en- 
joying music in their home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Atwood, also, came from the 
same state, and the family were soon mem- 
bers of our congregation and of our social 
circles. 

Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Taylor, with their three 
sons, came from New York. 

These names I recall, after this long time, 
from memory, and therefore cannot be sure 
that they are accurately written. 

With so many families and young people 
meeting in our social and religious life, it 
was not far on in the fifties, as might well 
be imagined, before acquaintances ripened 
and marriages took place, and not a few new 
houses were built, and there were new homes 
in them. 



106 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



VIH. 

I have already mentioned that, among the 
activities of the church, co-operation with 
the American Home Missionary Society was 
prominent from the first. That society was 
then, and had been for many years, the 
agency through which the Congregational 
and the Presbyterian churches of the New 
School carried on their missionary work in 
the older, but especially in the newer, states 
and territories. 

It had its missionary in Oregon in 1848, — 
Rev. George H. Atkinson, — and two mission- 
aries on their way to California before the 
discovery of gold was known. 

And when the news of that discovery was 
published, and brought suddenly an im- 
mense immigration, the society, through the 
ready generosity of the churches, was equal 
to the emergency, and planned to send mis- 
sionaries to meet the demand, as it should 
be ascertained. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 107 

Following the first two, came three more, 
and then the supply seemed to cease. 

At the same time the need of ministers 
became pressing, and its urgency was made 
known in every possible way by those of us 
here. But the reply came that qualified 
men, who were willing to come, could not be 
found. Such men were wanted at home, and 
California was a great way off, — it was 
merely a mining country, with a rough, 
shifting, roving mass of people, and its 
future was most uncertain. 

The right kind of men, we were told, 
would not come. But at last news came in 
1852 that the tide had turned, and that the 
urgency of the secretaries had prevailed, and 
six men, with their wives, had consented to 
come, and would make the journey together 
in a clipper ship around Cape Horn, and 
that they would arrive early in 1853 ! That 
made work enough, but it was delightful 
work. To have our little circle of ministers 
doubled at once, after such a period of hope 
deferred! But, then, there was no time to 
waste in congratulations. The little circles of 



108 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 

Christians in the larger and more permanent 
towns, who had been asking for missionaries, 
were at once informed of the good news, 
that measures might be set on foot to pre- 
pare the way for the reception of a minister. 
This necessitated a great deal of travel and 
correspondence, and the co-operation of our 
churches and church officers. 

More especially did this work fall on me 
and on my church, as it had fallen upon me 
from the beginning to conduct the corre- 
spondence with the secretaries, and now I 
was asked by them to receive these brethren 
and help locate them to the best advantage, 
and also to receive the money from the 
society's treasury and use it in hastening 
the new brethren and their families to their 
fields. 

On the 23d of February, 1853, the looked- 
for ship arrived, with all on board in good 
health. 

Never was a group of families so welcomed 
to California. They tarried with us over 
Sabbath, and the brethren preached in 
nearly all the churches in the city. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 109 

Before they left for their fields, a reception 
was given them in my house, and the pas- 
tors of churches in the city, with their wives, 
and many of our leading Christian people 
were invited to meet them. 

The occasion was one of great interest. It 
can hardly be understood in the changed 
conditions of to-day. 

Then, it was not easy to persuade qualified 
ministers to come to California. They were 
needed at home. The future of this state was 
uncertain. Its population was unsettled. Its 
industry was mining. Its resourses were un- 
developed. Towns were of uncertain contin- 
uance, and the prospect of church-building 
and ministerial support was remote. And yet, 
under these circumstances, to meet and greet 
six educated, enterprising young ministers, 
with their wives, ready for service, — there 
was an enthusiasm about that occasion that 
made it memorable. 

It was not confined to our denomination, 
but was shared by others; for, in fact, 
Christian work was very much a common 
interest among us then, and the denomina- 
tions had hardly come to be organized. 



110 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



But our own congregation entered into it 
heartily, and assisted in every way to make it 
a genuine w r elcome to those who had turned 
from home calls and home comforts, and 
had come so far to do their best to add new 
territory to the kingdom of our common 
Lord. 

Within a few days they were off to their 
several fields, and, I am sure, if they could 
then have foreseen what the state would 
come to be, as we now see it, they would 
have been thrice glad to invest their lives in 
its upbuilding. 

Our church was not unwilling that the 
pastor should bear the added responsibility 
of the Home Missionary agency for the time 
being, but with his pulpit, editorial, and pas- 
toral work, it was far too much for him. 

In 1853 the debt which w T as incurred in 
1851 for the completion of the church build- 
ing, in consequence of the great May fire, 
was paid. 

Then, in response to a "call" from the 
church and society, who were now able to 
provide for my support, I was formally in- 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. Ill 

stalled pastor by the Presbytery of San 
Francisco, Rev. Eli Corwin of San Jose 
preaching the sermon. This took place on 
April 26, 1854. 

Things were very prosperous, financially, 
in California, at this time. 

In the fall of that year it become necessary 
to lower our church building to the estab- 
lished street grade. 

This was a work requiring considerable 
time, necessitating the suspension of church 
services while it was going on. It was costly, 
as well, and it required no little effort to 
raise the money to pay the bill. 

It was done, however, in time, and the 
money was deposited in a certain bank for 
safe-keeping overnight. 

But before it was drawn the next morning, 
the bank suspended payment, and the money 
was lost ! 

This was the forerunner of a series of bank 
failures and financial troubles that afflicted 
the city for a year or two. 

But when our house of worship was again 
ready for use, all our religious services were 



112 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 

resumed, and an increased interest in them 
was manifest. A large number of new 
members joined the church, and its entire 
work in all departments moved on with new 
force. 

It was about this time that the news came 
from the East of the fitting out of United 
States warships to sail, under Commodore 
Perry, to seek acquaintance with Japan, that 
hermit nation that had for centuries declined 
intercourse with the rest of the world. 

The expedition was not welcomed on 
its arrival in Japan, but, in view of its 
numbers and strength, it was admitted, 
and the result was a treaty of amity and 
peace with the United States, signed in 
March, 1854. 

Situated here in California, as it were, a 
next-door neighbor to that hitherto unknown 
country, I made a study of its history and 
condition, so far as I could, intending to 
prepare a course of lectures on it for the 
information of my congregation. But the 
difficulty was to get books. There were none 
here. In fact, at that time, there were not 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 



113 



many anywhere. Japan had been so long 
shut up, and information concerning it had 
been so difficult to obtain, that not much was 
known about it. I sent to New York, while 
the expedition was on the way, and got such 
books as could be found there, and examined 
them thoroughly. 

Based upon this information, I wrote four 
lectures, and delivered them on four succes- 
sive Sabbath afternoons. They were at- 
tended not only by my own congregation, 
but by citizens generally, as many as the 
church could hold. 

The main purpose of these lectures was, 
not only to convey information concerning 
Japan, but to point out the obligation that 
its " opening" would lay upon us, as a state, 
to be foremost in the missionary work there. 
And all the years since, with their wonderful 
occurrences, have only emphasized that ob- 
ligation. 



114 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



IX. 

But as the winter of 1854-55 went by I 
found myself completely worn down by over- 
work. 

There was little or no opportunity for re- 
lief in those days. Ministers were few and 
far apart, and all were confined, each to his 
own work. There were no such things as 
" vacations " for any one. 

I had been in continuous service — such 
as I have described — for over four years and 
a half, and was pretty nearly worn out. The 
doctor, as well as other people, said I must 
have relief in some way. But how? That 
was the question. First, as to the pulpit. 
There was a recently arrived home mis- 
sionary, Rev. Edward S. Lacy, who had 
gone to Crescent City, which was coming 
into note as a growing town, to see whether 
the way was open there for the planting of 
a church. 

When he arrived in California a few 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 115 

months before, he came from the steamer 
directly to my house. 

That first grasp of his hand won my con- 
fidence, and began a friendship that grew 
into intimacy, and continued to the end of 
his life. 

He preached for me at least once before he 
left for Crescent City, and I saw clearly that 
he was a rare and able minister. 

He had written me that it was somewhat 
doubtful whether things were then ripe in 
that field for the establishment of a church, 
with any prospect of self-support. On learn- 
ing this, it occurred to me that possibly he 
might be willing to leave that field, at least 
for some months, and take my place, and let 
me go East and seek to recover strength, both 
of mind and body. 

I had been in California over six years. I 
had left home to come here only a few months 
after my graduation from the theological 
seminary. 

My experience at home had been only that 
of a student. I had a great desire to meet 
the men of my time, hear ministers preach, 



116 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 

see how they conducted various services, 
attend important meetings, find out how our 
far-off California was viewed as a missionary 
field at home, and how it would seem to me, 
looked at from that standpoint. 

And then I wanted to see old friends, — 
those, especially, who, six years before, had 
bade me good by with such a deep interest in 
my untried undertaking, and who had con- 
tinued to manifest that interest in every 
possible way as years went by. 

And so I wrote to Mr. Lacy, stating the cir- 
cumstances, and asking him if he would 
come and take my place for a few months, if 
I could find the way open to go East with my 
family. He replied that he would certainly 
come, if it would give me the relief I needed. 
Then I consulted the session, as well as other 
members of the church and congregation, 
and the plan was approved by all, and their 
co-operation was promised. 

The secretaries of the Home Missionary 
Society were written to, and a new arrange- 
ment was made for their agency here. 

My resignation of editorial duty on The 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 117 

Pacific was accepted on condition that I 
should be a frequent correspondent while 
away. 

And so, at last, all obstacles in the way of 
the plan seemed to be overcome, and prep- 
arations for the journey were entered upon 
in earnest. 

They were completed when the sailing-day 
arrived, and on April 17, 1855, we went 
early aboard the steamship Golden Age, in 
order to meet those who might come to see 
us off. And they came. It seemed as if the 
whole congregation came, and a great many 
other friends from the city, and we started 
on our journey well assured of the affection 
and prayers of Christians, and the confidence 
and esteem of citizens generally. 

We reached New York on Sabbath morn- 
ing, just in time to attend church. 

Leaving my family at the hotel, I borrowed 
a hat — for my steamer-cap was not quite the 
thing — and hurried to Dr. Adams's church, 
of which I had been a member, and where I 
had so many warm friends. I was a little late, 
and the service had commenced. But, quietly 



118 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



taking a seat, it made my heart beat with 
joy to hear again the familiar voice of the 
pastor, and see all around me the friendly 
people from whom it had been so hard to 
part some six years before. 

When the service was over, such welcomes 
and greetings as they gave me, pastor and 
all, were worth the journey. 

My first duty was to attend the meeting of 
the Presbyterian General Assembly, which 
was held that year in St. Louis, as commis- 
sioner from the Presbytery of San Francisco. 

When that was over I was at liberty to go 
where I pleased. The entire summer was 
spent in travel, in visiting old friends in 
their several fields, in attending commence- 
ments at several colleges, also missionary 
conventions and meetings of synods, and 
other literary and religious gatherings. One 
thing I remember with peculiar interest. 
Young people in my congregation, and some 
others, had asked me, if possible, to go and 
see their parents and home families, and ex- 
plain to them our California life. 

This I did, so far as I could, and it was a 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 119 

revelation to me. I never understood before, 
as I did then, the depth of home love and 
solicitude for sons and daughters beginning 
life in a far-off and almost unknown country. 
And it introduced me to many new acquaint- 
ances, who ever thereafter were most valued 
friends. 

The summer passed quickly, and when the 
autumn came we were anxious to return to 
our California home and work. 

For myself, I had gained new and larger 
views of the importance of that work, and 
many new ideas as to methods of carrying 
it on, and I felt almost impatient at the 
prospect of the long journey that we must 
take before they could be put in practice. I 
felt well and strong, and eager to meet my 
people and my ministerial associates here, 
and share with them the toils and the joys 
of the work before us. 

We were favored in our journey home, 
and arrived on New Year's morning of 1856. 

We received a most cordial welcome. Noth- 
ing was omitted by the people that would give 
emphasis to it. 



120 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



I found the affairs of the church in ex- 
cellent order. 

Key. Mr. Lacy had proved himself a sup- 
ply far more than satisfactory. The church 
had prospered in all its departments of work 
while in his charge. 

And his ministry during my absence in- 
troduced him so favorably to the good people 
of the city, that he was almost immediately 
called to the pastorate of the First Congrega- 
tional Church, where he was eminently suc- 
cessful in his ministry. 

This made him my near neighbor, and we 
were intimately associated in the ministry 
here in the years that followed. 

My work in the ministry from this time 
on was given much more exclusively to my 
own church and congregation than in the 
earlier years. 

It was now so large in numbers, and so 
well organized, that it could take its part in 
all the departments of service belonging to 
the denomination and to our local Christian 
and educational undertakings. 

But its first responsibility was its own up- 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 121 

building and enlargement in spiritual life, 
and to secure this the concentrated energies 
of the pastor were plainly required. 

It was under this conviction that I took 
up my work anew. My study stood close by 
the church. There I spent my mornings, 
and the door was locked on the inside. 

Two sermons were to be prepared for the 
Sabbath. 

Notes taken during the journey had to be 
reviewed and opinions examined. 

New books brought home awaited a care- 
ful reading. Very soon a group of studious 
young men proposed a Bible class to meet 
for instruction in my study every Sabbath 
afternoon at three o'clock. 

On consultation, they chose to take up the 
Book of Job, and afterward Acts and Revela- 
tion. This called for special study, and 
they all engaged in it. They were regular 
in attendance, and punctual almost to the 
minute. 

I knew and felt that a great deal depended 
on the results of these lessons on the mem- 



122 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



bers of that class, and I sought to prepare 
for it in that spirit. 

Afternoons I gave to visiting; calling on 
those, especially, who were sick or in any 
special trouble, and calling on strangers, also, 
particularly those who had been seen in the 
congregation, or those who had children in 
the Sabbath school, or those in the outskirts 
who seemed to be alone and without friends. 
The frequent changes in residence made 
plenty of this afternoon work. 

Great importance was attached to the mid- 
week prayer-meeting, and this was uni- 
formly well attended, and the members of 
the session and others habitually took part. 

The Sabbath school was always large, and 
full of live interest. And even now, after 
wellnigh fifty years, I meet those who tell 
me that they were members of that school, 
and that they have not forgotten the instruc- 
tion received there. 

It is only a few months since I received 
a letter from a woman whose home is in a 
mining county, and whose children and 
grandchildren are living around her, telling 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 123 

me how vivid was her memory of that school, 
to which she belonged when she was a girl, 
naming her teacher, an excellent gentleman, 
and asking me to tell her if he is yet alive. 

The church was positive in its principles, 
its doctrine, and its character, and yet it 
joined heartily with all other churches in 
the city that stood for the Christian life and 
morals. 



124 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



X. 

I have previously mentioned the interest 
taken by members of the church and con- 
gregation in the municipal affairs of the city. 
But all they could do seemed to go for 
naught, and things were going from bad to 
worse. Successive sets of city and county 
officers seemed to consist more and more of 
adepts in the lowest and most corrupt meth- 
ods of ward politics, — a class of men who 
came here from New York. Time after time 
there were attemps made to rid the city 
offices of these characters. 

Conventions were held, better nominations 
were made before elections, and it was well 
known that better candidates were voted for 
by a majority of the people. But it was of 
no use. Candidates of the same kind were 
always returned as elected. In one case a 
notorious character, whose name had not 
even been mentioned as a candidate, was de- 
clared elected. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 125 

Among other methods of making certain 
the election of candidates selected by these 
office-holders, ballot-boxes were made with 
false sides and bottoms, in which were packed 
any number of ballots beforehand. It made 
no difference how many votes were cast on 
cast on election day. The result being prede- 
termined, voting was useless. 

This device was not known at the time, or 
the predetermination of elections would have 
been no mystery. At the same time, the 
political party in power had the support of 
the guilty parties, and consequently their 
outrageous proceedings were overlooked, and 
seemed destined to be self-perpetuating. 

Meanwhile public morals were at a very 
low ebb. According to Mr. Hittell, there had 
been one thousand homicides in San Fran- 
cisco between 1849 and 1856, and only seven 
executions. 

As the year 1856 opened, the San Fran- 
cisco Evening Bulletin appeared, edited by 
James King of William. 

It was a remarkable paper. It discussed 
the municipal situation with a free and fear- 



126 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



less hand. It told the truth, and gave the 
names of men who were responsible for the 
scandalous and threatening condition of the 
city. 

One of these men had been a convict in 
New York state prison at Sing Sing, and this 
fact was stated. The man sought Mr. King, 
the editor, on the afternoon of the publication, 
and shot him. The news spread with light- 
ning speed, and the people were exasperated. 

The murderer was quickly shut up in the 
county jail, — the only place then safe for 
him. Swiftly then the Vigilance Committee 
was organized. Business was suspended. 

In three days the committee was in work- 
ing order. 

All the sober, industrious, and influential 
citizens seemed to have joined it. Members of 
our churches were conspicuous among them. 
They joined in sheer self-defense against the 
lawless element that had grasped the forms 
of law, and were using them, unrestrained, 
against every public interest. 

Mr. Goddard, one of the elders of our 
church, was a member of the committee, and 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 127 

Colonel Charles Doane was chief commander 
of the entire armed force, which consisted of 
several thousand enlisted men. 

Mr. King was shot on the twenty-third 
day of May. The committee took control of 
the city almost immediately, and held it 
through the summer, and until near the 
time when the municipal election would be 
held according to law. 

Meanwhile the city was thoroughly policed, 
and the criminal class left for parts unknown, 
or went into hiding, and the city became, all 
at once, perfectly orderly and safe, by night 
as well as by day. 

The moral sentiment of the city firmly 
sustained the committee. But one pastor of 
a church spoke against it, while most of the 
ministers in the city upheld it with their 
united influence. 

It was seen to be simply a matter of self- 
preservation. 

When the work of the committee was done, 
there was a grand review-day of the citizen- 
military force on which the committee had 
depended to enforce its orders. 



128 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



Business was suspended, and everybody 
turned out to see the display. Five thou- 
sand one hundred and thirty-seven enrolled 
men marched by companies and divisions, 
and gave such emphasis to the public will 
in support of the committee's administra- 
tion as settled the course of our munici- 
pal affairs for many years. In the city elec- 
tions that fall, political partisanship was 
ignored, and the voters joined in electing 
officers Avho were known to have been in 
favor of the committee's administration, and 
who were also known to be qualified and 
trustworthy men. 

The high character borne by the city for 
many years thereafter is the best testimony 
to the thoroughness with which that work of 
municipal reform was carried through. 

But through it all our church-work pro- 
ceeded with almost as much regularity as if 
there had been no public danger or pervading 
anxiety. People were sober during that 
critical time, and were disposed to listen to 
the word of Him who controls the destinies 
of peoples and nations. It was wonderful 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 129 

how quickly public affairs fell into order 
under the new regime. 

The character of the men who had been 
chosen to fill the offices was such as inspired 
public confidence at once, and there was a 
general sense of relief. 

It was hardly needful now for ministers of 
the gospel to urge upon citizens the duty of 
voting and giving prompt attention to all 
civic duties, for the sad consequences of pre- 
vious neglect had taught them the lesson in 
a way never to be forgotten. 



130 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



XI. 

As civil order was now established, the 
church addressed itself more earnestly to 
spiritual work. 

Bible-study was prosecuted with increased 
earnestness. 

The themes of sermons were chosen with 
reference to earnest persuasion to the new 
life and constant growth therein. 

The ruling idea of that life was understood 
to be service, and the world to be its 14 field. " 
The church became regular in its support of 
missions, and constantly helpful to young 
churches in the state. It continued to share 
with the other churches the support of the 
Orphan Asylum, the Ladies' Protection and 
Relief Society, the Young Men's Christian 
Association, and the Chinese Mission, as well 
as many other benevolent undertakings. It 
never failed in its support of The Pacific, be- 
cause it was a missionary agency essential to 
our common Christian work throughout the 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 



131 



Pacific Slope. Moreover, a college school 
had been started in Oakland, which required 
a great deal of help in its beginning. Rev. 
Henry Durant came to California in 1853, as 
he said, "with college on the brain," and was 
at the head of this school. Our church gave 
him a very firm support from the beginning. 

So many things could not be undertaken 
at that early day with any prospect of suc- 
cess, had it not been for the joint action 
of the Presbyterian (New School) and Con- 
gregational churches, together with many 
very able members of Presbyterian churches, 
Old School. 

That joint action was commenced in 1849, 
but its full value was most plainly seen after 
the arrival of the six home missionar}^ fami- 
lies in February, 1853, doubling our minis- 
terial force. 

Our spring meeting was held that year in 
Nevada City, with the Congregational church, 
Rev. J. H. Warren, pastor. 

It was a long, hard journey to reach that 
place in those days, but when once there, in 
the mountain air, among the towering pines, 



132 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



there was an exhilaration about it that made 
one want to shout and leap, and play the 
schoolboy. 

And all the more so when we got together, 
for some of us had been student associates 
only two or three years before, in college or 
in the seminary, and here we were unexpect- 
edly renewing our acquaintance in the mines 
of California! This, of itself, furnished ex- 
citement enough, for we could not have 
anticipated it. 

We were all young and eager to lay hold 
on our work. The very air seemed to be 
electrified with the spirit of enterprise. 

And it did not matter that every institution 
we came to help build must be commenced 
at the very foundation, and that the whole 
work would come on at once. We felt equal 
to anything. 

I believe we were all there, — nine Presby- 
terians and seven Congregationalists, with 
some lay delegates from the young churches. 

Thus reinforced, we laid hold on business 
with a will. Forenoons the denominations 
met apart, and each did its separate business. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 133 



Afternoons and evenings we spent together, 
laying plans for work common to both de- 
nominations, such as Bible and tract dis- 
tribution, Sabbath-observance, temperance, 
good morals, but especially education. Here 
was planned the College of California, as it 
was afterward developed from the college 
school in Oakland, and committees were ap- 
pointed to put the plans in execution. 

All these things we could set on foot with 
a good prospect of success, because of our 
united action, with so many widely separated 
churches co-operating, and with The Pacific 
as a medium of communication, enabling us 
to act together. 

And this joint action continued, and it af- 
forded* a steady support to good institutions 
and sound principles and salutary influences 
that have continued to prevail, and have done 
a great deal toward making this a Christian 
state. These joint meetings were held until the 
two branches of the Presbyterian Church in 
the United States united, and then the joint 
meetings with the Congregationalists ceased. 



134 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



XII. 

All through these years there were cases of 
sickness among the young business men, 
when the pastor's visits were sure to be wel- 
comed. 

Some of them were fatal, and then, when 
the end was approaching, the most tender 
and assiduous attention was willingly ren- 
dered. I wish I had kept note of these cases. 
But how could I, with such demands on every 
moment of my time? 

I did make note of two or three, and they 
were specimens of many others. 

A young man who usually attended wor- 
ship with us was found very sick at a hotel. 
While everything possible was done for his 
comfort, he was asked if he had made sure 
of the friendship of his Saviour by consecrat- 
ing himself to him. After some days, and 
subsequent visits, he heartily accepted Christ 
as his personal Saviour, and then his heart 
was at rest. He knew that his time was very 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 135 



short, but his great regret was that he had 
neither time nor strength remaining to re- 
turn any service in testimony of his gratitude 
for the unbounded mercy he was receiving. 

" How ungrateful, how ungrateful," he 
kept saying, — " how ungrateful to be receiv- 
ing so much, and yet no strength to return 
anything! " 

He asked if he might receive the sacrament 
of the Lord's supper, and it was administered 
to him the next day, which was the Sabbath, 
and in a very few days he passed to the life 
where there is no sickness, and where there is 
ample opportunity to show gratitude for the 
" unspeakable gift." 

Another young man of fine mind and 
good character fell sick, and it became evi- 
dent that he could not recover. He had 
been devoted to business, and put off the 
consideration of religion as a personal matter. 
He was somewhat prejudiced, moreover, be- 
cause, of his two partners, — one of them a 
non-religious man, who was generous and 
true; and the other, a professor of religion, 
who was close, severe, and always reserved. 



136 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



To the latter, and to his religion, he had taken 
a dislike. 

And so he had lived a kind of half-skepti- 
cal life, and now, unexpectedly, was called to 
face the question of the life to come. 

His time was very short, and his last words 
were, " What a preparation! " 

Speaking of these young men reminds me 
of another who died some three years before, 
in the fall of 1851. It was George Endicott, 
of the mercantile firm of Endicott, Greene, 
and Oaks. 

He came from Massachusetts, and was a 
member of the historic family of his name. 

Though brought up in the Unitarian faith 
of that day, he was a member of our congre- 
gation, and helped build the church. 

He was a member of the city board of 
aldermen, and I think he was president of it. 
It was largely owing to him that the first law 
establishing the city public schools passed 
the board. 

That fall there were a good many cases of 
cholera in this city and in Sacramento. 

Mr. Endicott was one of its victims. In 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 137 



its earlier stages his sufferings were such 
that no conversation could be had with him. 

When the paroxysms were over and the 
end was very near, I fortunately called to in- 
quire how he was. Being informed that I 
was there, he asked to see me. As I entered, 
he asked me to offer prayer, which I did, 
and he himself immediately followed in 
words distinctly uttered, and so impressive 
that when I left I went immediately to my 
study and wrote them down as nearly as I 
could recall them. 

He began with the Lord's Prayer, and then 
proceeded: "Almighty and most merciful 
God! thou who hast been my guide from 
my youth, and hast directed my way, into 
thy hands I commit my spirit. Suddenly 
and unexpectedly I am called to leave the 
world, and meet thee. Prepare me, my 
God, to meet thee in peace. I have been 
wayward. I have done many things I ought 
not to have done. I have sinned against 
thee. I have been wild and thoughtless. I 
confess my folly. 

" But I trust in thee, Father, for forgive- 



138 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



ness, through Jesus Christ, thy Son. I hope 
I am truly penitent. I trust my soul to 
thee. 

"I commend to thee my widowed mother. 
Be thou merciful to her, God. Be her 
support and her consolation in her affliction. 

"Bless my only sister, and reward her for 
all her love to me. 

" Be merciful to my only remaining 
brother; sustain him in his loneliness and 
sorrow. Bless those who have been asso- 
ciated with me in business, and reward them 
for all their faithfulness to me. 

"I thank thee, most gracious God, for 
the many friends thou hast given me in 
this world; that the world has used me, 
while I have been in it, so well. I thank 
thee that for twenty-six years thou hast 
been with me and blessed me, and hast been 
so kind to me. And now I am about to go 
out of this world; Lord, receive me to thy- 
self. Thou hast called me suddenly from 
life, Lord; pardon my sins and receive me 
to thyself, through Jesus Christ, thy Son. 

"I thank thee for the possession of my 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 139 

reason and mental powers in this trying 
moment. 

" I thank thee, that I have no fear of 
death, and for the blessed hope of acceptance 
with thee, through Jesus Christ. 

"And now I am weak and weary; Lord, 
I commend my soul to thee. I can say no 
more. 

' ' ' Now I lay me down to sleep ; 
I pray the Lord my soul to keep ; 
If I should die before I wake, 
I pray the Lord my soul to take.' 

" Amen." 

He soon became unconscious and passed 
away. 



140 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



XIII. 

The home life and activity of the church 
in 1856 was not so much disturbed by the civil 
commotions as might be supposed. 

But when, in the latter part of the year, 
things quieted down, spiritual life took on a 
brighter aspect. And as the year closed, 
and the new year 1857 opened, the religious 
condition among us was far more hopeful 
than it had ever been. 

At the same time, a thorough study of the 
Bible was carried on, and the Sabbath school 
had a corps of earnest and faithful teachers. 
The pupils were encouraged to commit to 
memory the answers in the Shorter Catechism 
by the offer of the gift of a handsome Bible 
to every one who should recite them all cor- 
rectly at one sitting. 

These Bibles were furnished gratuitously 
by a Christian gentleman of Brooklyn, New 
York, who made the same offer to all the 
Sabbath schools in California, and hundreds 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 141 

of Bibles were earned and distributed in that 
way. 

With us it promoted greatly the serious 
study of the Bible, especially among the 
older pupils. And the memorizing of the 
catechism gave definiteness and point to 
that study, the result of which appeared 
later. 

The entire year 1857 was given to undis- 
turbed Christian service. 

Civil affairs were now in a very satisfac- 
tory condition. Public confidence was re- 
stored, and the attention of Christians was 
more than ever concentrated upon religious 
work. 

A deep interest was taken in the college 
school in Oakland, which, in its growth, was 
now approaching the time when the college 
itself must be organized. 

To prepare for this, it was necessary that 
a wider co-operation in the institution and 
its plans should be secured, as well as an in- 
telligent constituency gathered to its support. 

To this end, I carefully prepared and 
preached several sermons, giving the reasons 



142 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



why Christian people in a new state should 
see to it, at any sacrifice, that the young 
were provided with the means of higher 
education, under the pervading influence of 
the Christian religion. 

The officers and leading members of the 
congregation enlisted heartily in the support 
of every measure deemed necessary to pre- 
pare the way for organizing the college. It 
may be said truly that the church adopted 
the college as one of the objects of its earnest 
and persevering support, and its members 
gave generously to its funds. 

There was a right hearty enthusiasm in 
this, as was seen in the large attendance of 
the members of the congregation at the ex- 
aminations and public anniversaries of the 
school in Oakland. 

As we approached the year 1858, all the 
church services increased in interest. 

The pastor's Bible class was full of interest, 
and the Sabbath school was larger than ever. 
The prayer-meeting services were full of 
spiritual life, and there was no need of ur- 
ging attendance upon them. In the early 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 143 



spring of 1858 came the wonderful religions 
revival all over the East! Even the daily 
papers from there were full of it. I got a 
copy of the New York Tribune one day, on 
the arrival of the steamer, and, on opening it, 
found an entire page and a half filled with 
accounts of it. 

I was so surprised to see this in the Tribune, 
that I remember having stopped on the 
sidewalk, near the Plaza, and read it through, 
for I could not wait to get home. Of course 
all Christian hearts were stirred, and the 
hope sprang up at once that our churches 
and all the people might share in the won- 
derful blessing. 

One of the statements in the Tribune was 
this: — 

" Mid-day prayer-meetings of business 
men are held in the heart of New York every 
day, attended not only by religious people, 
but by multitudes of others. And what is 
true of New York is true, also, of other cities, 
east and west." 

The New York Commercial Advertiser 
said : — 



144 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



" Never before during the life of the pres- 
ent generation was a religious movement 
less open to ridicule or exception of any 
kind." 

News of a similar kind continued to come 
as the year advanced, and its influence made 
a profound impression here, and in all our 
California towns. In this city, a daily noon 
prayer-meeting was commenced in the Young 
Men's Christian Association rooms early in 
April, and by the 15th of the month the at- 
tendance had risen to one hundred. Mem- 
bers of nearly all the churches took part in 
these meetings, and a popular interest was 
awakened in them that continued through 
the year. 

There came a request from a group of some 
twenty men. living in a section outside of 
the city, none of them professors of religion, 
asking that a meeting might be appointed in 
their neighborhood, and that some Christians 
would come and pray with them. 

Christians from abroad, who were in the 
city, attended our noon prayer-meetings, and 
some of them wept for joy at the scene which 
those meetings daily presented. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 145 

Our church services were filled with new 
life. Preaching the gospel then was so easy 
and delightful. Additions to the churches 
on profession of faith soon began to take 
place. 

At our communion in August, 1858, we 
received eleven of our choicest young people 
as a beginning. 

And so the work went on through the year, 
the most favored in the history of the state 
hitherto. 

Nor were the benevolent activities of the 
church diminished. On the contrary, to- 
gether with another church it almost lite- 
rally supported and carried along churches 
that had lost their houses of worship by fire. 

The social life of the church was by no 
means forgotten. The Pacific of December 
2, 1858, mentions a reunion in the pastor's 
parlors on Thanksgiving evening, saying that 
" it was a large company, and one of the 
most enjoyable entertainments of the season." 

In February, 1859, the pastor preached 
two discourses, reviewing the ten years then 
past since his arrival in California, and de- 



146 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



scribing the condition of the churches and of 
church-work after the lapse of the ten years. 

This was done, more especially, to convey, 
by their publication, to Christians at the 
East a true idea of the progress of the work 
they had maintained here, and to show them 
the urgent necessity of a still larger outlay 
of means to support and enlarge it. 

Meantime some of the young men of our 
church opened a Sabbath school in a build- 
ing situated near the corner of Harrison and 
Third streets, where many people were liv- 
ing without any means of religious instruc- 
tion. 

Others joined in similar work in Hayes 
Valley, and later on in one or two other 
places. 

Out of these beginnings in the teaching of 
the Word, churches have grown, and stand 
to-day holding forth the Word of Life to all 
around them. 

So manifest was this Christian activity, 
that The Pacific remarked, in August, 1859, 
" The power and efficiency of the Howard 
church now rests largely with the young 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 147 

men who have recently joined it, and who 
are throwing themselves with such energy 
into its work." 

Among the additions to the church this 
year were Captain Albert Hall and his wife, 
Mrs. Matilda Hall, who joined on confession 
of their faith on April 12th. 



148 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



XIV. 

So the year 1859 glided swiftly by, while 
the church was full of social and spiritual 
life within, and was watching with helpful 
hand the growing college school in Oakland, 
together with other outside undertakings. 

During this year some new questions came 
up for consideration. Our house of worship 
had been a good deal damaged in being low- 
ered from its first elevation, and showed 
plainly the need of extensive repairs. 

Just then a young congregation of another 
denomination offered to buy the church prop- 
erty for their own use. 

Terms of sale were agreed upon between 
them and the trustees, and we began looking 
for a lot on which to build anew. 

But our purchasers found before long that 
they were to be disappointed in some of 
their expectations of means, and they feared 
that they would not be able to meet pay- 
ments according to the contract. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 149 



The result was that the sale failed of 
consummation, and left the question again 
open, what it was best to do. 

It was finally determined, early in 1860, to 
enlarge and thoroughly repair the building, 
adding twenty feet to its length, and finish 
under it lecture-rooms, Sunday school rooms, 
etc.; also, to reseat the audience-room, and 
refurnish the church throughout. 

In pursuance of this plan the church build- 
ing was given up to the workmen on the 12th 
of April, 1860, all the church services being 
suspended until the work of reconstruction 
should be completed. 

But during this time the members of the 
church and congregation were by no means 
idle. It was no small undertaking at that 
time to raise the money to pay for so ex- 
tensive improvements. Plans were proposed 
and discussed, and finally adopted, in which 
every man and woman, and almost every 
child, was expected to take part. 

When the enlarged audience-room was 
completed, and before the new seats were put 
in, on May 17th a floral fair was held in it, 



150 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



continuing an entire week. The room was 
fitted up and made beautiful in many ways. 

There were booths, and evergreens and 
flags, and tasteful tables supplied with fruits 
and flowers, — with things useful and orna- 
mental, especially in the way of needlework. 

Choice music was provided, both vocal and 
instrumental. 

The fair was open day and evening, but 
care was taken that not an objectionable 
feature should be allowed to have place, not 
one. 

The fair was thronged, and the social en- 
joyment of the occasion was very manifest. 

The proceeds were eminently satisfactory, 
and showed the generous interest taken by 
the public in our success. It was the first 
time in the history of the church that it had 
held a fair or festival. 

On the last Sabbath in July, the recon- 
structed church was opened for worship. 

The Bulletin, giving an account of the oc- 
casion, said: — 

" The spacious building was filled by a 
large congregation at an early hour. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 151 

" The services were increasingly interesting 
to the close. Rev. Edward S. Lacy conducted 
the opening services, and Rev. Dr. W. C. 
Anderson offered the dedicatory prayer. The 
sermon was preached by the pastor, Rev. 
Samuel H. Willey. His text was Matthew 
ix, 36: ' But when he saw the multitudes, he 
was moved with compassion on them, because 
they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as 
sheep having no shepherd.' 

" In the sermon the preacher referred to the 
religious history of San Francisco, detailing 
the circumstances of the opening of the 
Howard church ten years ago, located then 
on a sand-bank, far remote from the business 
part of the city. He contrasted it with the 
pleasant surroundings with which the re- 
opening was effected on the same spot, but 
now in the very center of the city." 

The account proceeds to say that the house 
of worship is one of the neatest and pleasant- 
est in the city, and is well furnished through- 
out, having live rooms in the basement for 
lecture-room, Sabbath school rooms, etc. 

"The church is now in a very influential 
position. 



152 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



"With remarkable unanimity the pastor 
and people have labored together for the last 
ten years. 

" While all the pioneer churches in Califor- 
nia have been obliged to seek new pastors, Mr. 
Willey is one of three who have remained 
with their first charge to the present time." 

About this time a special interest had 
sprung up, among many singers in the city, 
in the ancient church music, both tunes and 
anthems, and a large choir of men and 
women enjoyed practicing them. 

After a while they were asked to sing this 
music in public, and let others enjoy hear- 
ing the sacred music of their great-grand- 
fathers and great-grandmothers. 

They consented, and remembering that 
our congregation had been under unusually 
heavy expenses, they offered to sing first in 
aid of our church funds. 

So Piatt's Hall was engaged and fitted up 
for the occasion. 

The costumes to be worn by the singers 
were those of the time when the music was 
in use in the services of religious worship. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 153 



As might be imagined, there was no little 
curiosity to see and hear them. It was ad- 
vertised as " The Old Folks' Concert," and 
was given on the evening of August 20, 1860. 

Piatt's Hall, the largest hall in the city, 
was crowded with people. Then came the 
novelty borrowed from antiquity. 

The singers, men and women, took their 
places on the platform, dressed in the cos- 
tumes of a past century, — a quaint and 
curious company, presenting a spectacle very 
interesting in itself, to say nothing of the 
singing that followed. 

The present seemed to be lost out of mind, 
and we were all living in an age long gone 
by, and with people materialized from the 
portraits on our walls and from the pictures 
in our books of history. 

The audience was intensely interested in the 
singing of music of which none of them had 
ever known anything, except from tradition. 

It was simple and inartistic, but some of 
the anthems were stirring and inspiring 
enough. We could hardly realize that we 
were hearing the sacred melodies so precious 



154 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 

to good people of a former century, in this 
far-away land, which was scarcely known, 
even by name, in their day. 

The concert was a decided success in every 
way. and yielded a generous sum to our 
church treasury. 

And now, with the better accommodations 
of our reconstructed house of worship, the 
church took up its work anew and with 
fresh vigor. The Sabbath school, especially, 
found its new rooms of great advantage, 
and it immediately increased in numbers to 
till them. It continued to hold its promi- 
nent place in the church-work. 

At this time the Sabbath evening service 
was given to the school once a month. On 
these evenings there were brief addresses, 
reports, missionary anecdotes, and much 
singing by the school, all which brought to- 
gether large congregations, and added to the 
usefulness of the school. 

On one of these occasions, a sketch of the 
history of the school was given by Mr. Wales 
L. Palmer, one of the young men who had 
recently united with the church. In that 
sketch he said: — 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 155 

" The first session of this school was held 
on May 19, 1850. There were present three 
teachers and six scholars. Habitual visiting 
on the part of Mr. David N. Hawley and 
others brought up the number in attendance 
in one year to sixty-four scholars, making 
the school one of the largest in the city. A 
large portion of the scholars at this time 
brought in were those under bad influences 
at home. But the children were attracted 
by the kindly manner of the teachers. We 
have knowledge now of six girls (not the 
first six of 1850) who were at this time in- 
duced to attend. 

" Of these, two were without father, but 
had a dissipated mother, who often drove 
them from the house to seek protection 
wherever they could find it. 

" Two others were urged, almost with force, 
to forsake the Sunday school and the course 
they were there taught to pursue. But 
neither threats nor persuasion could induce 
them to forgo the pleasure they experienced 
in the Sabbath school. 

" The bad influence of six days could not 



156 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



obliterate the impression of the short ses- 
sions of the school and the hasty visits of 
the teacher. These girls have all grown to 
womanhood in lives of virtue, and are hap- 
pily married, while some of the parents fill 
dishonored graves and others are lost sight 
of. 

"The practice of visiting was continued, 
and in about three years the number of 
scholars increased to one hundred and fifty, 
which was the largest average reached. For 
four years more, and down to 1857, the 
school was under the control of most effi- 
cient teachers and officers. 

" Those of us who have since come forward 
to take an active part in the school owe 
them an especial debt of gratitude. 

" In 1856 a Bible class was formed, led by 
the pastor, consisting of eleven young men 
of the congregation. 

"Together they studied the Acts of the 
Apostles, the Book of Job, also Revelation, 
and, later, the Shorter Catechism. Eight of 
the class joined the church on confession of 
their faith before the study of the catechism 
was completed. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 157 

"The members of that class now have 
largely to do with the affairs both of the 
school and of the church. The past is our 
inheritance, and we must transmit its influ- 
ences unimpaired to the future." 

The church at this time seemed to have a 
good prospect of permanence in the field 
where it had grown up. The congregation 
was made up principally of families, and the 
entire section of the city around it was in- 
habited by families. 

Both the northern and the southern slopes 
of Rincon Hill were covered with homes, 
many of them expensively built, and more 
were building, all the way to South Park and 
beyond. And in that level region the people 
could enjoy the hourly, or perhaps the half- 
hourly, service of the omnibuses that ran on 
the plank-roads from the city to the Mission 
and back. These conveyances could not 
climb hills, and so the drift of population 
was along these lines. Cable-cars, which 
subsequently changed all this, had not then 
been invented. But at that time it seemed 
likely that all this region would be filled 
with a residence population. 



158 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



There was no thought, either, that the 
city's business would so extend itself as to 
reach the neighborhood of our church, and 
occupy it with stores and warehouses and 
manufactories. 

So we expected that the church would 
grow there, and be permanent. 

In the enlarged church accommodation, the 
work of the pastor was materially increased, 
and he gave himself to it with renewed sin- 
gleness of purpose. The months of autumn 
and of winter passed swiftly, well occupied 
in diligent and earnest church-work. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 159 



CHAPTER XV. 

And so we entered the new year 1861, little 
dreaming of the startling events that were 
soon to absorb the attention of the entire 
country. The newspapers had been telling 
of the extreme discontent of the Southern 
States ever since the election of Abraham 
Lincoln to the Presidency, the November 
before. 

Very soon thereafter they told us of the 
actual " secession " of seven states and the 
organization of another government. But 
the thing did not seem to strike the public 
mind as a reality. 

We had heard the cry of " wolf " so long, 
that we did not realize that the alarm was 
genuine. But we had not long to wait to be 
convinced. 

April had hardly come in, when the news 
of the rebel firing on Sumter removed all 
doubt, and taught the nation what it had to 
face! Border states, we were told, were de- 



160 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



bating whether they would remain loyal or 
join the " Confederacy." 

While we were absorbed in reading and 
discussing the amazing news concerning 
events in the East, it dawned upon the minds 
of some among us that it was time to ascertain 
how we ourselves stood, as a state, on the 
question of loyalty! 

At first it seemed to be taken for granted that 
there was no such " question," for of course 
we were loyal, and it was made apparent 
in public assemblies, wherever allusions 
or direct references were made to the attack 
on our national flag, by instant cheers that 
followed expressions of love for it. The same 
sensitiveness of feeling pervaded our congre- 
gations, in public worship, in a more quiet 
way, and was intensified by every reference 
to the great public danger, whether in prayer 
or in direct address to the people. 

The ministers in all our churches but one 
preached loyalty with all their might, and 
very few, if any, of their people failed to agree 
with them. 

But it was remembered, at the same time, 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 



161 



that there might be another sentiment among 
us. A considerable portion of the population 
was from the Southern States. For years 
their representatives had urged legislation 
here in favor of measures demanded by 
the slave-holding interest, and sometimes 
came very near carrying them. 

Moreover, the principal offices, both state 
and national, were held by men known to 
have leanings in that direction. 

There was no very open expression of 
sympathy with the rebellion, but there were 
men in control of the army, who, if they fol- 
lowed the example of military officers in the 
Southern States, might betray their trusts, 
and precipitate civil war right here among 
ourselves. As possible danger was clearly 
perceived, loyal sentiment asserted itself more 
positively. It appeared in talk on the street, 
in the centers of business, in social gatherings, 
and wherever people met together. 

The churches and congregations took it 
up, and in order to make their position more 
emphatic, all but one or two of them raised 
national flags on their houses of worship, 
and kept them there. 



162 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



This was done in most cases with impos- 
ing public ceremony, that deepened convic- 
tion and aroused enthusiasm. 

This was early the case with the Howard 
church. 

Notice of the occasion was circulated among 
the members, and a large number of men, 
with not a few women and children, met at 
the appointed time on the steps and sidewalk 
in front of the church. A large new national 
flag was run up to the top of the tower and 
opened to the afternoon breeze, amid the 
cheers of the multitude. 

Then came brief speeches by Isaac E. Davis, 
Henry B. Janes, and others, followed by the 
pastor, who said, in concluding his speech, 
" Beneath that flag, schools, colleges, and 
seminaries have sprung up. Beneath that 
flag, freedom of speech and the freedom of 
the press, and, more than all, freedom of 
conscience, have been the people's common 
possession. And, by the help of God, we are 
determined that it shall continue to wave 
over us. 

" It shall wave over our national capitol. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 163 



It shall wave over our state-houses, our court- 
houses, oyer our schools and seminaries, 
over our public works and private residences. 
It shall wave over the altars of our holy re- 
ligion. It shall wave everywhere, and no 
other shall wave! So saith the Atlantic to 
the Pacific, and the Pacific answers back to 
the Atlantic, Amen and amen." 

Notwithstanding all that was said and done 
to make it clear that California was loyal to 
the flag and the Union, there was an under- 
tone of restless feeling, until some Southern 
sympathizers with the rebellion were removed 
from office, and their places supplied with 
well-known loyal men. 

And it did not become known till a year 
or two later how much ground there realty 
had been for anxiety. It was only then that 
the^public were informed of the conspiracies 
and secret plots formed for getting possession 
oL_the military works and property of the 
United States, in order, if possible, to turn 
the state over to the "Confederacy." And it 
was only then that it became known how 
near some of them came to success! 



164 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



All this, together with the disheartening 
news that was coming in 1861 from the 
East, concerning the loss of battles, and the 
divided state of the public mind, absorbed 
the attention of all our people, and greatly 
interfered with earnest and aggressive Chris- 
tian work. 

It was a period of danger and uncertainty, 
and brought us close to the throne of Divine 
mercy in supplication for help. 

Under the stress of this great anxiety, the 
remainder of the year 1861 passed quickly 
away, and the year 1862 came in. 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 165 



XVI. 

All the work of the church went regularly 
on, and with more heart and persistence 
than might have been expected. 

But the pastor was feeling the wear of a 
long service. It had now been of twelve 
years' continuance, almost, relieved by only 
one vacation of any length, and that was in 
the summer and fall of 1855, spent at the 
East. For the first time I began to feel 
unequal in mind and body to the demands 
of my daily duties, though I was only forty- 
one years old. I resisted this feeling; I tried 
to overcome it in every way. But week after 
week I felt that I was not doing justice to 
my work. 

I did not like to think of it, because it looked 
toward the necessity of laying that work 
down and being separated from my people, 
and that I could not bear to think of. As 
time went on, and the necessity had to be 
considered, there came up in my mind the 



166 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 

thought of some Eastern parish, where I 
might be for a while among my early friends, 
and in the atmosphere of more settled society, 
making the acquaintance, at the same time, 
of more of the men of my day and the 
leading questions up for consideration. Could 
I not recover by such a change, just for a few 
years, and then come back, worth more 
than ever to California? — for I never for a 
moment thought of remaining away perma- 
nently. I said nothing of all this, but my 
condition of health and strength compelled 
me to think a great deal about it. 

If my church had then been able to send 
me away for a year or so, and let me travel 
and think and learn abroad, I am now con- 
vinced that I could have come home and 
been worth far more to them for another 
dozen years than I had been for the dozen 
years past. 

But I knew they were not able to do any- 
thing of the kind. No church in California 
was able to do it. 

As the spring advanced, the conviction 
forced itself upon me that a change must be 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 167 

made; and if so, the spring of the year was 
the best season in which to make it. 

I consulted my wife about it, and we 
studied the matter long and carefully to- 
gether. 

I also mentioned our purpose to one or 
two very intimate ministerial friends. 

The time was set in our minds for my 
resignation and for our departure. 

Just then I received a request from the 
trustees of the College of California that I 
should take the vice-presidency of the col- 
lege. 

It was urged by the friends of the institu- 
tion that acceptance would give me a change 
of work, which was so much needed, and 
would remove the necessity of my leaving 
the state, from which no man then could 
well be spared, and at the same time a 
material service might be rendered to an in- 
stitution in which we all, and particularly 
my church, were deeply interested. 

This presented a new and very difficult 
question for me to decide. To accept would 
involve the surrender of my cherished plan 



16S HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 



of going East, and also the necessity of 
leaving the pulpit for the time being, and 
undertaking duties many of which were not 
congenial, and to which I had never been 
accustomed. 

But, having been a member of the board 
of trustees from the beginning, I knew the 
necessities of the institution, and it seemed 
likely that I could help it along by a service 
of a year or two, and at the same time, by a 
change of work, recover needed health and 
strength. So, under the persuasion of many 
people, I decided to accept the appointment, 
which, as it proved, held me fast for eight 
years, instead of two. 

One of the hardest things I ever had to do 
was to announce my resignation to my con- 
gregation. 

I preached the farewell sermon on Sabbath 
morning, April 27, 1862. My text was the 
third verse of the eighty-fourth Psalm: " Yea, 
the sparrow hath found a house, and the swal- 
low a nest for herself, where she may lay her 
young, even thine altars, Lord of hosts, 
my King, and my God." 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 169 

It was from the same Psalm that I selected 
the first verse as the text of my dedication 
sermon when the house of worship was 
built. 

Then everything was new, and we were 
full of anticipation and hope for the future 
as we entered our new church edifice. 

Now the occasion suggested the third verse 
as the text. 

The sacred associations which had grown 
strong there in the passing years must be 
broken up, and at once they seemed more 
precious than ever. It seemed as if the very 
birds were favored because they could build 
their nests and rear their young close by the 
altars of the Lord, and not be disturbed. The 
place of worship becomes to us hallowed, and 
we part from it in sorrow. 

This was the theme of the discourse. 

In closing, I said: — 

" It pleases me to think that though this is 
a "farewell sermon," it is so only in an 
official sense; for I shall not be removed far 
away, nor from your acquaintance or esteem. 

" As I said when I tendered my resigna- 



170 HISTORY OF FIRST PASTORATE OF 

tion, I repeat now, 4 1 cannot refrain from 
bearing testimony to the uninterruptedly 
pleasant relation that has subsisted so long 
between us. So far as I know, it has never 
been marred by one unpleasant word or un- 
kind feeling from the beginning to this time. 
For a period longer than is usual for the 
continuance of a pastorate of late years, you 
have accorded me your undiminished con- 
fidence. My home has been pleasant and 
my work a joy; and the recollection of it 
will be to me an unfailing source of pleasure. 
My most earnest desire is, that the plain and 
earnest invitations of the gospel, which it 
has been my unceasing endeavor to present, 
may be really and truly accepted by you all, 
its commands obeyed, its precepts followed, 
and that thus you may enjoy the fruits of a 
Christian life now, and its heavenly rewards 
hereafter.' " 

All was immediately said and done by the 
church and congregation that could be, to 
take away regret from the parting, especially 
by passing resolutions reviewing the past, 
and expressing their appreciation of the 



HOWARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 171 

closing pastorate. In their closing resolu- 
tions they say, speaking of the pastor, 
" Mindful that the record of his acts and in- 
fluence among us is without spot or blemish, 
and grateful for the hallowed associations 
which cluster round that record, we cannot 
dissolve without heartfelt regret the cordial 
relations which have existed through so 
many years." 

We removed to Oakland, and I took up my 
work in the college. 

But while the church was seeking to obtain 
a pastor from the East, I frequently preached 
for them, especially on communion Sabbaths. 

And now, after so many years, both my 
wife and myself count it a special blessing 
that we were able to be present and take 
part in the semi-centennial anniversary of 
the church with which we were so closely 
identified in founding. 



NOV 1 19°° 



